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Coffee with a Cop stops by McDonald’s
By Tatiana Flowers, The Hour
Original article HERE
Several men and women in blue gathered under the golden arches on Thursday morning.
The police officers were at the McDonald’s on Westport Avenue for Coffee with a Cop, which encourages face-to-face interaction between the community and law enforcement to bridge any gaps that may exist.
“Policing is a very difficult job for a variety of different reasons,” said Lt. Terry Blake, who helped organize the event. “We’ve had incidents around the country that have painted police officers in a very poor light and I think not unlike any other profession … people sometimes judge all police officers based on the acts of a few.”
Flyers advertising the event encouraged people to ask questions or voice any concerns they might have.
Coffee with a Cop was launched by the Hawthorne Police Department in California in 2011 and has grown into a national movement with events occurring in all 50 states. The program has also expanded to Europe, some African countries, Latin America and Australia, according to the Coffee With A Cop website.
Sgt. Sophia Gulino, a 14-year veteran of the Norwalk Police Department, said she’s tried to bring citizens and officers together through various outreach events. One of them is the Citizen’s Police Academy, a program that educates the public about the inner workings of the Police Department. The next session begins Oct. 2.
Gulino trains officers in mental health first aid and helps run the Community Cares Team, which targets “frequent fliers,” or people who continuously end up at police headquarters because of mental health issues, substance abuse, or other factors. She leads scam prevention talks at senior centers because the elderly are often victimized, she said.
Drew Todd showed up to Coffee with a Cop for the first time on Thursday. He participated in the Citizen’s Police Academy last year and came to McDonald’s to show support for Norwalk’s officers.
“They are mothers, daughters, fathers, sisters and brothers” he said. “They are human beings and they have lives.”
The ride-along he took with an officer last year opened his eyes to the reality of what police encounter on a daily basis.
“It’s not an easy job. It’s a tough job,” he said.
At past coffee events, community members expressed concern about Norwalk police officers’ image. People complained that officers seemed isolated, only responding to calls in high stress situations, which tend to be negative, Blake said.
“So based on those interactions, the community doesn’t necessarily see officers as people,” he said.
“I see smiles, I see happiness, a lot of thank you’s, and thank you for your services,” said Sue Czel.
She started making home-cooked meals for the Norwalk Police Department after a Weymouth, Mass., police officer was shot, she said.
“I wanted to show them that I care and there’s people behind me that care,” she said.
Gulino said officers will always grapple with maintaining trust in their communities.
“Police officers, as long as they’re going to have to be the one responding to the community’s very worst days, it’ll be tough to ever have a perfect relationship with the community,” she said. “But with that being said, we won’t give up.”
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