Forget ‘Coffee with a cop.’ This chief took kids and parents fishing.

By Matt Cosentino, NJ.com
Original article HERE

When he was appointed police chief in Washington Township in January, one of the first objectives Pat Gurcsik talked about was his desire to build stronger relationships between police officers and the community.

Thursday’s “Fishing With a Cop” event was exactly what he had in mind.

The month-long program — held every Thursday night in June at the lake behind police headquarters — came to an end with its most successful outing yet. A huge crowd was on hand as children and their parents tried to hook sunnies and other fish with help from officers.

There was also a DJ playing music and a free barbecue of hot dogs and hamburgers, capped by a visit from Mister Softee for dessert.

“A couple of guys from the department came up with the idea to teach kids how to fish,” Gurcsik said. “You see a lot of smiles out here. It’s a family event and it seems to be one of our more popular outreach programs. This is probably our most crowded one yet.”

Gurcsik has emphasized several programs to increase interactions between the police department and residents, including “Coffee With a Cop” and “Cool Off With a Cop” at Rita’s Water Ice. The Citizens Police Academy, which gives people an in-depth look at how the department operates, is currently running and a high school basketball program is also taking place throughout the summer.

“We’re trying to change the culture of the police department a little bit and do a lot more community outreach,” Gurcsik said. “In 2016, President Obama ordered a report on policing. Part of that report is recommending community outreach, so that’s where it originated. A lot of departments across the country are starting to do events like this.”

The rest of the department seems to be embracing the initiative as well.

“That’s his No. 1 goal,” officer Chris Tarasevich said of Gurcsik. “Even when we’re out on duty, we try to stop and talk to kids. If we see kids playing basketball, we stop and see how their day is going. We’re trying to build a positive relationship with them.”

Portia Mathes, a Washington Township resident for the last 17 years, brought her 7-year-old grandson Elijah to “Fishing With a Cop” every night that it ran.

“I found out about the program because I just happened to go on Washington Township’s website one day, looking for things to do over the summer,” she said. “I saw ‘Fishing With a Cop’ and I thought it sounded like a good idea. I knew my grandson wanted to try fishing and I don’t know anything about it, so we came here. It’s a great program.”

Elijah caught two fish and got hooked on the sport. More importantly, in Mathes’ eyes, he got to develop relationships with several police officers.

“I know a lot of times you hear about African-Americans having problems with cops,” she said. “I want my grandson to grow up knowing that you should not be afraid of a police officer, so that’s why I brought him here. I hope they continue the program so I can bring him back every year.”

Benny Costa, a 5-year-old who will be heading into kindergarten at Thomas Jefferson Elementary in the fall, also picked up a rod for the first time. He came with his dad and older brother and casted out from the banks of the lake alongside Tarasevich.

“I really wanted to catch a fish, but I still had a lot of fun,” Benny said. “I can’t wait to try again.”

Tarasevich also fished with his 7-year-old daughter Sophia, another rookie angler who caught five fish her first time out.

“I want to go fishing every day now,” she said.

Chris Henning and his grandson, 4-year-old Jason, go fishing together often and were happy to attend this event for the first time.

“We’re having a good time,” Henning said. “We go to Lake Kandle and he fishes down there all the time. I think he wants to be a police officer, so he loves this.

“This is awesome, no doubt. Just look at the turnout. You have free food and everything, you can’t beat it.”

As for Gurcsik, he hopes this is just the start for the community outreach he envisioned back in January.

“We just applied for a grant from the state of New Jersey for community policing,” he said. “It’s for $10,000 and we should know next month. It will go to events like this, so I’m hoping we can bring this back next summer.

“I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from residents in town. It’s good to hear.”