[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
October 7 is National Coffee with a Cop day, but Sergeant Brian Spencer had no idea when he chose that day to hold the first Coffee with a Cop in Wellesley. From 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. officers chatted and greeted the community at Dunkin’ Donuts, providing complimentary coffee as well as general conversation.
“It’s just general conversation,” Sergeant Spencer said. “If people have concerns, they can tell us, but we’re not trying to push anything. I had a couple officers who usually work midnights who don’t get to see people that often. And then there’s an officer on a bike, so you know her when she goes by.”
The coffee shop was bustling with activity, and Sergeant Spencer said for the first event of this nature, they had a decent turnout. “We had about 20 people come by, and some people had traffic issues they wanted to talk about, but most just came by to say hi, to tell us they think it’s a good idea,” he said.
While Coffee with a Cop is a national program, “this is the first one we’ve done. Our plan is to do more of them, maybe in different locations. We want to try to host one down at the Council on Aging, and maybe other coffee places if they’ll give us the space.”
This week also happens to be National Community Policing Week, part of the Obama administrations effort to build a stronger relationship between law enforcement and the community they serve. Grabbing a cup of joe with some local officers was just one event the Wellesley Police Force held to corroborate this effort. Sergeant Spencer said, “Throughout this week a couple of our officer were out in the community. We had some in the parking lots, in playgrounds, things like that. So we’re just trying to get to talk to people, break the ice a little bit.”
Surrounded by a number of concerned and verbose citizens, the attention of the officers never seemed to waver. Sergeant Spencer added, “We really value the community and whatever we can do on the police end to help the community, and this is just another way to do that.”
