CULLMAN – Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. the Red Door Café hosted Coffee with a Cop. The community was invited to come and drink coffee with the Cullman Police Department.
The purpose of the event was for citizens to get to know their local law enforcement and state any complaints or issues they may have had in a comfortable environment.
Officer Adam Clark has headed up the get-together for the last three years. The department expressed their sincere gratitude to the Red Door Café for hosting the event.
Adam Clark claimed, “The community and the police officers need to have a relationship to avoid problems. And plus it gives people a place to come and talk about any kind of problems they’re having whereas they might not feel comfortable coming up to the police station. This kind of gives us a neutral place for people to come and express their feelings. A lot of people just want to meet. Also, the police department is changing a lot. There’s a lot of new officers, and some of the older people in the community don’t know any of these people. This is a place for them to come and meet some of the new officers. Of course, we have burglaries and everything else, somebody might be able to come in here and give us new information to help us out. So we need them just as much as they need us.”
Bill McCartney, owner of the Red Door Café, stated, “It's great having an opportunity for the Police Department and public just to sit down, have a cup of coffee together, get to know each other, and build some relationships. It’s much harder to think about ‘them’ and ‘us’ when you’ve sat down, had a conversation and a cup of coffee with somebody. I think that is probably the biggest plus for doing Coffee with a Cop. Especially for younger folks, it really makes a difference in your perception of who the police are.”
“I got to hear a lot of good stories and we’ve told a lot of good stories. So it was just a really good chance for us to get out and be with the public,” stated Cullman Police Department Chief Kenny Culpepper.
Numerous people attended; submitting complaints and fresh ideas for improving the department.
Ben Johnson, a Cullman resident, talked to the Chief about ways to help officers de-stress off the job. “This was an opportunity to get them when they’re not busy. The purpose to be here is to share ideas,” Johnson explained.
Coffee with a Cop is not just a casual time to meet local police officers; it is also an important part of building a community and keeping crime out of Cullman.
