Colorado Springs coffee with a cop series helps improve relationships between police, public

By Kaitlin Durbin, Colorado Springs Gazette
Original article HERE

As the first year of Coffee with a Cop came to a close Friday, local law enforcement heads reflected on the lessons learned throughout the year. Namely: Citizens have questions.

That was the purpose behind the events.

Officers from the Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado State Patrol and Fountain Police Department have held monthly meetings at Colorado Springs-area coffee shops all year simply to mingle with the public they’re sworn to protect.

Sometimes citizens stop by to say thanks. Other times, they want answers.

Once, a mother brought her child in to talk to CSPD Chief Peter Carey about school safety, he said. She wanted to know if police were prepared to protect against and react to an active shooter in the school, he said.

He couldn’t give away all of the department’s tactics, but Carey said he was able to explain some of the department’s protocols and how its response has improved over the years.

“Not every conversation is a feel-good moment,” Carey said Friday. “People ask some difficult questions, but I think that speaks to the level of trust they have (with us).”

The agencies also offered a Cafecito con un Policia last month at Hacienda Villarreal to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community, which is often a more silent sector of the population. They found that people were scared, Fountain Chief Chris Heberer said.

Donald Trump had just been elected president, and people wanted to know if officers were Republican or Democrat and if law enforcement was forming deportation forces, Heberer said.

“I told them, nothing changes,” Heberer said.

At another event, Heberer said he met with three generations of a black family who wanted to know how to stay safe amid media reports about police targeting black citizens and vice versa.

A mother once told him she had to persuade her 4-year-old to come to the event because he was scared.

“That can’t happen,” Heberer said.

Friday’s event at the Starbucks on Palmer Park Boulevard off Powers Boulevard was largely working to win over the younger population. Every child received a stuffed animal and a jumbo candy cane from Santa and his helper elf while they talked with the men and women in uniform.

Two young girls who tentatively approached Bill Elder alongside their grandmother initially shied away from talking, but warmed to the sheriff after a shared fist-bump and a picture. Both of the girls dressed up as SWAT team members for Halloween, their grandmother told him.

“That’s the whole point of this,” Elder told The Gazette. “It gives us a chance to connect in ways we wouldn’t normally.”

Upcoming event dates and locations will be announced next year.