Inaugural Coffee with Cops to be held in North Cape

Cape Girardeau residents can meet local police officers at the first-ever "Coffee with Cops" event at Mobile (Bi-State) Convenience Store on Wednesday morning.

The event at 920 N. Kingshighway is designed to give law enforcement officers and members of the community a chance to get to know one another in an informal setting.

From 8 to 9 a.m., officers will buy coffee, answer questions and listen to residents' concerns.

"We're citizens, too. We live here; safety is a concern for us just as it is for other people," Cape Girardeau Police Department communications officer Darin Hickey said Monday. "But a lot of time people see the uniform, the badge, they don't always see the person. We want to get to know people, and we want people to get to know us."

He explained the department needs everyone to work together with neighbors and law enforcement officers to help make the community safer, and that the informal setting offers a unique opportunity for communication.

"A lot of time, police officers have to deal with people on a bad day," Hickey said. "There's not a lot of times that we have informal settings where informal conversations are a lot easier for both parties a lot of the time. We want people to be able to say 'hi,' ask questions and have a conversation."

Wednesday's event is to be the first in a series of similar events. Other venues have shown interest, Hickey said, and those events will be announced as they become finalized.

"This is something that we want to continue," he said. "And it's something we feel can be a positive platform for everybody involved."

tgraef@semissourian.com

Pertinent address:

920 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.