Faces behind the badge

By Outlook
Original article HERE

OUTLOOK PHOTO: JOSH KULLA - Shirley Vandermosten of Gresham chats with Gresham Police Officers Jarom Sweazy and Ralph Godfrey Monday morning at Cafe Delerium in downtown Gresham as part of the city's Coffee With Cops community outreach program.

Gresham held its first Coffee with a Cop event Monday morning, May 1, allowing members of the community to chat face-to-face with the people tasked with protecting them.

Two officers, Jarom Sweazey and Ralph Godfrey, went to the event at Café Delirium to speak about their career paths, changes in the community, their hobbies and everything in between.

It was a relaxed conversation that allowed those who attended to learn more about the people behind the badges.

“I volunteered to do this when the department first started talking about it,” said Sweazey, who enjoyed the speaking with everyone.

Sweazey is a school resource officer focused on gang intervention and truancy, while Godfrey is a patrol officer and serves on the regional Explosive Disposal Unit.

Gresham’s Police Department holds community engagement as a top priority, and Coffee with a Cop is just one way it’s trying to create better lines of dialogue to address public safety.

“We are always talking with people, but since there is no crisis here it makes it a lot easier,” Sweazey said. “It’s hard to have small talk when you are responding to an emergency.”

Coffee with a Cop is a national initiative supported by the United States Department of Justice and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Future events will be held across the community, and the plan is to have different members of the department attend each time.