August 30, 2019

Island residents share concerns at Coffee with a Cop

By Chris Barnett, KUAM
Original article HERE

Coffee with a Cop is back. The opportunity to grab a cup of joe with Guam’s finest was a fixture of the Calvo-Tenorio administration, and this morning it resurfaced with a good crowd at the Yigo McDonald’s.

Mongmong resident FS Foriom had an issue with a person who he says was mistreated while in Guam Police Department custody. When he heard about coffee with a cop, he drove to Yigo to speak with officers.

“They give us some resources and some references to go to like internal affairs and the right procedures to the way they do it,” he said. “So it’s a good thing we came here so now we know where to go and who to reach to when things happen like this.”

The event ran for two hours this morning and Capt. Tim Santos said there were quite a few concerns shared over coffee.

“Kids crossing the streets and how sometimes they think people in our community are speeding they don’t find its safe for children crossing,” he said. “We’ve got issues where we’ve talked about the flow of people walking around suspicious activity, burglaries. That’s a concern for everybody it gives a chance for our citizens to come out and talk to us about some of their concerns and what we’re doing about it. Even some of their suggestions, so whatever comes out of this, we’re supposed to come back and report to the chief through a written report.”

Santos added it is easier for people to approach police in a casual setting like Mcdonald’s and they’re likely to share than they would when they run into police, while say, getting pulled over for speeding.

One thing was clear, the community missed coffee with a cop, and at least one person there this morning would like more of the same.

“I think it’s great that they’re out here in the community and interested in the things that are going on, interested in what’s bothering us, interested in kind of making their presence known and giving us some ideas and how we can improve our neighborhoods and placed around us,” Scott Hughes said.