Gratiot sheriff takes part in ‘Coffee with a Cop Day’

By Greg Nelson, Morning Sun
Original article HERE

Coffee with a Cop DayUntil recently, Gratiot County Sheriff Mike Morris had never been much of a coffee drinker.

However, that all changed last month when Steve Sopocy was named the county’s new undersheriff after 25 years with the Ingham County Sheriff’s Department.

“He just didn’t know what good coffee was,” Sopocy said laughing.

That new found love of caffeine led to Morris taking part in his first National Coffee with a Cop Day on Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. at the McDonald’s Restaurant in Ithaca.

“Steve actually suggested it,” Morris said. “I hadn’t drank coffee before he came. Now he’s got me hooked.”

Sopocy did his part by attending a similar event held at the Cops and Doughnuts Central Precinct in Mt. Pleasant with members of the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department, Michigan State Police and Mt. Pleasant Police Department.

Usually when the public meets a police officer it’s in an emergency or crisis situation. Coffee with a Cop Day, which became a nationwide event in 2016, gives people the chance to sit down informally to chat with law enforcement officials.

“After Steve told me about the event I said I would do it,” Morris said. “It’s better than drinking pop.”

He also felt it was a good way for residents to meet him in person and have one-on-one interaction.

Although Morris has worked for the department for more than 30 years he was just appointed sheriff in May after the retirement of Doug Wright.

“I thought it would be good for public relations and a way to meet some people,” Morris said. “It will also give them a chance to talk about their opinions or any problems they are having.”

National Coffee with a Cop Day was actually launched by members of the Hawthorne Police Department in Hawthorne, Calif. in 2011, as a way to better interact with their community. It’s now annually observed in all 50 states on the first Wednesday of October.

Other area law enforcement agencies held similar events in Clare, Mecosta and Osceola counties.