Every Friday at 8:30 a.m., the Jacobi Community Center hosts Coffee with a Cop. The two most recent police personnel to be present were Police Chief Dennis King and Detective Sgt. Sean Brady.
Coffee with a Cop is a national program that holds events in all 50 states. The purpose of the program is to encourage successful interactions between the police and the citizens they serve each day, as police officers and community members get together to discuss issues and learn more about each other. It seeks to open the door for interactions outside of the crisis situations that typically bring law-enforcement officers and community members together.
There is National Coffee with a Cop Day as well, but King said he likes to participate in the event regularly.
“I think it’s a great concept,” he said. “The community center is at the epicenter of town.”
“We used to have Coffee with a Cop at Starbucks or Blue Canoe, but there’s not a lot of space,” Brady added.
During Coffee with a Cop, police officers can be found right in the lounge area of the community center.
King and Brady joked that they hear reports of crimes that happened in the 1960s. More often, people will share reports of speeding or parking issues.
“The complaints generally are not life or death or safety complaints, they’re more preferences,” King said.
Coffee with a Cop’s website states that its core objective is to create an environment where there are no communication barriers, formal speeches, or hidden agendas, just honest conversations about issues that affect communities.
The 17th annual National Coffee with a Cop Day will be Oct. 2, 2024.