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Guttenberg hosts second Coffee With a Cop event Read more: Hudson Reporter – Guttenberg hosts second Coffee With a Cop event Residents and law enforcement mingle over decaf and donuts
By Hannington Dia, Hudson Reporter
Original article HERE
Guttenberg held its second “Coffee With a Cop” event at the Anna L. Klein Elementary School on March 21. Local officers were available for conversation with residents over anything on their minds, from quality of life concerns to just saying hello. The two parties bonded over free refreshments such as java and coffee cakes.
Resident Rose Gunther, 98, had no concerns or complaints to give to the officers; she only wanted to mingle with her fellow citizens.
“I like to be with people,” Gunther said. She has lived in the town since her 1919 birth. “Know what’s going on in town.” She also wanted to commend the officers on their work in the town. “The police are very nice. If I ever call them, they come.”
She came to the event with long time friend and fellow resident Hilda Knutsen. Her role at the event was mainly “to keep her [Gunther] company. We’ve been friends for almost 23 years.” However, Knutsen did have a quality of life issue she brought to the officers’ attention. She claims that dog excrement left on town sidewalks by careless owners is a serious problem.
Read more: Hudson Reporter – Guttenberg hosts second Coffee With a Cop event Residents and law enforcement mingle over decaf and donuts
“I’m just worried about this dog problem,” Knutsen said. “Every corner, they just leave dog waste there; they let their dog go in the street. It’s kind of gross. If you wake up in the morning, you go out your door, you see dog waste everywhere. It’s a terrible thing to have to see. America, a long time ago, was a lot cleaner and better.”
That wasn’t the last concern Knutsen had. She also claims other residents blare loud music well past midnight. “Two o’ clock, three o’ clock in the morning,” she said. “Sometimes you can’t even go to sleep.”
Josephine, another senior, came to the event with her friends from their residential building on Boulevard East. “I enjoy my resident friends, and I enjoy the policeman; they’re wonderful here,” she said. “I get a lot of help when I have trouble walking. They’re all great, and they try to help out as much as they can.”
Civics class, for real
Anna Klein schoolteacher Andrew Gallagher brought his fifth grade social studies class to the event. He hoped to familiarize them with municipal workers.
“I think it’s important that they’re seeing the faces of our community,” Gallagher said, while his class spoke with officers, “and seeing that they’re part of the greater community, not just the school, but everyone who lives in the town as well. Just being exposed to the older people in our community and being respectful of our seniors and the older generation that really built this community.”
One of the officers that spoke with Gallagher’s kids was Detective Steve Diaz. Co-incidentally, the day happened to be his birthday, so the young ones, along with others, gathered to sing him “Happy Birthday.”
“It’s things like that, wishing me a Happy Birthday,” that put you on a personal level with the residents,” Diaz said about the gesture. “And we can take it there.”
He also works as a juvenile officer in the town, heading the Junior Police Academy. “We are here to provide a service for them, and getting to know them on an individual basis is great. They see us in the street, they can say hello. They can stop us and tell us how their day is going. It’s to build relationships.”
“Instead of just basically dialing 911 and not knowing who’s coming, now at least you get to meet officers that are here,” said Lieutenant Juan Berrera, of the gathering. “There’s no speeches, just everybody can meet and talk. It’s a no-pressure environment.”
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