Huntingburg police officers hosting Coffee with a Cop

Huntingburg officers will be sitting down for a conversation over a cup of coffee this Friday morning.

Who’s invited?

“It’s for anyone who has questions or just wants to meet our officers,” Huntingburg Assistant Chief Ronnie Bowman explained. “If they have never had a chance to meet anyone on our department, we are encouraging them to come out and talk to us.”

Hosted at Old School Cafe, 304 E. 4th Street, from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday, March 13, this is the first Coffee with a Cop event planned for the department. They hope it will become a monthly event designed to allow the community to get know the officers working the streets of their city.

Coffee with a Cop was started in Hawethorne, California in 2011 when the police department there decided to host a meeting with community members. Organizers felt that meeting over a cup of coffee might encourage more open dialogue through one on one interactions with officers and facilitate a more relaxed atmosphere.

What started in 2011 in California is now commonplace in many departments across the nation. Hawethorne’s efforts have become a national organization designed to assist departments seeking to incorporate the coffee events into their community policing efforts.

According to Bowman, the Huntingburg department has wanted to host an event since they witnessed the success Evansville’s department was having with their events. They were hindered by the need to replace officers lost through retirement or resignation as well as fill two new full time positions on the police force. In all, five new officers have been hired and trained as full time officers on the 12 person department since Chief Art Parks was appointed by Mayor Denny Spinner in 2012.

With the department fully staffed, the announcement appeared on their Facebook Page Monday afternoon. “If you’ve ever had a question you’ve always wanted to ask a cop, here’s your chance … Want to discuss speeding complaints in your neighborhood? No problem. Want to discuss the snow last week? No problem. Want to discuss how happy you are this is Jeff Gordan’s last season driving in NASCAR? No Problem.”

Bowman did point out that the officers could get called out for an incident during the meeting but he planned on having at least three officers available to meet with anyone who attends Friday

“If they just want to talk about sports or the weather or whatever, they can come out and get to know our officers and we can get to know you,” Bowman said. “Even if folks only have five minutes to stop in and see what is going on, we are looking forward to it.”

Future events will be held at different businesses in the city.

In addition to the Coffee with a Cop event, earlier this year the department announced a women’s safety course that is planned for this spring. “I couldn’t believe the response we received when we announced the safety course,” Bowman said.

Another community-building initiative being planned is the reintroduction of the Citizens Academy. The department hasn’t hosted an academy since the early 2000s. Through the academy, residents were able to attend a course that, in Bowman’s words, gave the what, why and how of the department’s police work. The academy could happen later this year and will likely be held one night a week over six to 12 weeks.