The Town of Castle Rock has scheduled a years worth of monthly dates for residents to have coffee with a local police officer. Duly named, ‘Coffee with a Cop’, this informal series lends business owners and residents an opportunity to get to know the people behind the badges- on a local level- at coffee shops, restaurants and other venues.
April’s event at the Castle Rock Senior Center had Castle Rock Sergeant Todd Brown, as well as Officers Seth Morrissey and Kerry Lewis. They used the time to fellowship with seniors and answer a number of questions from the inquisitive audience, who learned a great deal about their personal life and values.
The group was reminded that officers don’t just put people in jail and write tickets, they also like to be involved in the community. Along with having run the torch in the Special Olympics, Officer Lewis enjoys helping out with youth programs in the schools. “I can have a grass roots community effect, where I can turn kids from bad behavior. Even the best upbringing does not preclude problems. Sometimes a child will do things that are selfish. I was brought up the son of a minister and learned values growing up.”
Officer Morrissey went on to address questions about the Castle Rock’s burgeoning population. “We’re constantly in the news now because the area just keeps growing. We’ll (the police) keep growing too.” He likewise talked about a recent trip to New York City with a fellow Castle Rock police officer to attend Officer Wenjian Liu’s funeral. Along with Officer Rafael Ramos, Officer Liu lost his life in the riots after the Ferguson Verdict. He remembered feeling the heartfelt thanks of NYC officers for coming; now friends wanting photo opportunities with “the cops from Castle Rock.”
Later, Sgt. Brown went on to discuss a variety of programs that allow police to connect with the community, including:
Community Policing Officer
Citizens Academy
Community Safety Volunteers
Advocates to the Community
Reaching out to HOA’s
Art Around the Rock Program
Old School Community
Later, he spoke about new things cops are doing to handle the next generation. To keep up with the times, they have modified the old DARE program to include addressing such topics as online safety, bullying and prescription drugs.
Finally, it wasn’t surprising that questions turned the conversation topic to discussing the prairie dog issue and the new mall development. One resident suggested opening up the issue to shooting the rodents, which Sgt. Brown strongly affirmed was not a good idea.
If you are interested in attending an upcoming talk, go to the Town of Castle Rock website to see the upcoming monthly schedule so you can have ‘Coffee With a Cop.’
2015 ‘Coffee With a Cop’ Schedule:
http://www.crgov.com/index.aspx?nid=1514
