Wenatchee Police Department Hosting ‘Coffee with a Cop’ This Wednesday

Officers from the Wenatchee Police Department will be available for questions or just conversation when they host Coffee with a Cop next Wednesday, October 3rd.

The event begins at 9:30 am at Cafe Columbia inside Pybus Public Market in downtown Wenatchee.

"It's pretty casual and informal; there's no board or anything like that," explained Captain Jim West of the Wenatchee PD. "There's chairs and little tables that will be set up near Cafe Columbia inside Pybus Market. Officers will be there ... and community members are encouraged just to come up, say hi [and] have a conversation with the officers that are there."

Coffee with a Cop is a national initiative supported by the United States Department of Justice and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Similar events have been held, or are being held, across the nation in an effort to bring local law enforcement and the communities they serve closer together.

Most contact between law enforcement and the public happens during emergencies or emotional situations. For officers, those situations are not always the best times for relationship building with the community, and some members of the community may otherwise feel that officers are unapproachable on the street.

This won't be the case with Coffee with a Cop, according to West.

"There's no agenda, there's no speeches or anything like that. It's basically a time where community members can come and meet their local police officers and talk about any kind of issues going on in their neighborhood and their community."

And if you happen upon Captain West, there's only one way he takes his coffee.

"I always have to have cream and sugar."