February 25, 2019

Community, Girard cops connect at Coffee with a Cop

By Sean Barron, The Vindicator
Original article HERE

story tease Caylee Wilkes took to heart a vital safety tip officer Joe Malvasia offered her, but the kind way he delivered it also was not lost on her.

“He said you should stop, run away and tell a grownup,” the Girard Middle School fourth-grader said, referring to advice she received about what to do if a loose firearm is around.

Malvasia’s potentially life-saving words also seemed to reinforce in Caylee’s mind that the vast majority of police officers are caring and want to protect, serve and connect with their communities. That also was the primary message behind the first Coffee with a Cop gathering Sunday afternoon at the Girard Multi-Generational Center, 443 Trumbull Ave.

“They should be helping people in case of fires or crimes,” Caylee added during the two-hour event. “Most of them are good people. I hope the community will know they are.”

“They’re nice and kind,” said Caylee’s sister, Adalyn Genetta, 6.

About a dozen officers with the 30-member Girard Police Department were on hand to talk to and share coffee, doughnuts and hot chocolate with residents as a way of further connecting with them in positive ways, noted officer J.J. Silverman, who, along with police Chief John Norman, spearheaded the effort.

“We want to help people in the community put a name and personality to these officers they’re seeing out there every day,” explained Silverman, who’s been with the department nearly two years.

Events such as Sunday’s Coffee with a Cop also provide the advantage of allowing the police to improve their job performances because the gatherings help establish greater rapport with those they serve, he continued, adding the department has seen an influx of new, young officers.

“It humanizes us and lets the citizens see us as people, not just as people who give out traffic tickets and come to make arrests,” said Malvasia, who’s a school-resource officer with the Girard School District.

Viewing those who take an oath to protect and serve in this light couldn’t be more vital, especially given the amount of negative publicity many officers have received largely because of a spate of high-profile police shootings of young unarmed black men in recent years, observed Bobbi Riehl, Adalyn and Caylee’s mother.

“They’re normal people just like us; they have family and friends they leave every day to protect us,” said Riehl, whose brother, Mat Jamison, has been with the department more than five years. “They face the worst in people every day, and maybe they deserve more recognition than they get.”

In addition, many officers go out of their way to commit random kind acts without seeking or wanting publicity, she continued.

Accompanying Riehl and her daughters at the gathering were her husband, David Riehl, and son, Grayson Riehl, 3.

Also among those at Sunday’s gathering were Dave and Pat Leo, parents of the late and beloved Justin Leo, the Girard officer who was killed Oct. 21, 2017, in the line of duty while answering a domestic call at an Indiana Avenue residence.

Pat expressed her continued gratitude to attendees as well as the community at large, saying that everyone’s support has tremendously helped her and her husband deal with their loss and ordeal.

Also during the event, Norman, who joined the Girard Police Department in 1984 as a dispatcher, introduced each of the officers to those in attendance. Many of them are new to the force, so they’re in the process of becoming more familiar to many residents, he said.

The Multi-Generational Center enjoys a close relationship with the department, and the two entities have collaborated to host programs such as a Safety Day last August in which the police and fire departments provided bicycle helmets, gun safety locks and other related items. That effort also gave students an opportunity to meet and bond with safety-force personnel before the start of school, noted Laura Carey, the center’s administrative director.

“We’ve always partnered with the Girard Police Department on a number of programs,” said Carey, adding that the facility’s other offerings for seniors include yoga, exercise and fitness, Tai Chi, computer-technology classes and speakers who provide seminars on everything from avoiding scams to banking strategies.