Locals spend the morning drinking ‘Coffee with a Cop’

By Tesia Reed, WTOC
Original article HERE

Saturday people across Savannah sat down with police officers.

They weren’t being questioned or wanted for a crime. Instead, they casually talked about issues in the community over a free cup of coffee.

It’s about community policing, being out and about, making lasting relationships with people in their area.

Officers from different precincts met at five McDonald’s locations.

People living in those communities were able to talk about concerns they have including traffic, speeders and abandoned homes.

It’s a way for the police to get with the community about what’s going well and what is not going so well. They say Sometimes it’s easier to talk with them this way because they don’t usually interact like this.

“Most people’s interaction with law enforcement is negative because they’re either getting a ticket, or something bad is happened in their lives,” said Lt. Dan Flood, SCMPD. “We kind of want that to change and that their interactions maybe not so negative or when we possibly can be having those positive interactions with the community. So they understand we’re just out doing a job and there’s something we can do for them that are positive.”

Corporal Hillary Nielsen likes the ability to connect with new people.

“I love it, its a totally different experience than what we get to do on a daily basis, people call us when we’re in crisis and this is the flip side of that,” said Corporal Hillary Nielsen, SCMPD. “We’re not dealing with people in an emergency situation, we get to be apart of their everyday life. Which is what we want, because it helps us build those community relationships.”

Tommy Taylor says one of his issues includes abandoned homes in the Kensington Park neighborhood. He enjoys the ability to talk with officers saying this effort helped get someone arrested, stopping some of the break ins near his home.

“They’re always great to work with, they listen to what you have to say, they’re responsive, they try to solve any police issues we have,” said Tommy Taylor.

Metro offers Coffee with a Cop periodically through the year.