Final Cone with a Cop offers fun for fall

By Kelly Damekdame, Midland Daily News
Original article HERE

Midland Police officer Jeremy Davis, center, points out features of a SWAT van to Jacoby Figueroa, 2, left, Sam Figueroa, second from left, and Jackson Figueroa, 9, right, during Cone with a Cop on Thursday outside of Pizza Sam's in Midland. (Katy Kildee/kkildee@mdn.net)

Midland Police officially marked the summer wind down with a final Cone with a Cop on Thursday night.

Officers blocked off the section of Ashman Street between Larkin and Main streets, adjacent to the downtown’s Street Performer Series, and invited children and parents to chat.

School Resource Officers Jai Mahabir and Jeremy Davis hung out at the SWAT Team bus as it was swarmed by a steady stream of children.

“We always go to all of these,” Renee Summers said of her family as 6-year-old Bryce and 4-year-old Gavin checked out the bus.

“Would you guys like stickers?” Davis asked, with one of the boys happily sharing he has two police badge stickers on his bed already.

At one point, Gavin went straight to the front of the bus and looked back with a big smile before hitting the siren, sending a toned-down “hoooonnkk” across the pavement.

“They both want to be police officers,” Summers said.

Nearby was State Farm Insurance agent Steve Witt with a drawing for two backpacks filled with school supplies, and farther down the street were more police vehicles with the lights on and more officers chatting with community members.

Stationed at a new police vehicle — a Ford SUV emblazoned with a black and white graphic of Midland’s Tridge on each side — was Community Relations Sgt. Chris Wenzell, chatting it up with youngsters.

One boy positioned himself in the front seat of the SUV, and Wenzell stepped forward to hit a couple buttons.

“Look at this right here,” Wenzell told the boy, to a reward of a smile. “It’s a spotlight.”

The department partnered with Pizza Sam’s for the event, which is part of an ongoing national effort to build relationships between officers and community members.

Similar to the department’s “Coffee with a Cop” events in the winter, “Cone with a Cop” provides a chance for community members to meet with officers, ask questions and learn more about the department’s work in the city of Midland.

The events are part of a national initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Similar events are held across the country as local police departments strive to make lasting connections with the communities they serve.