‘To build trust’: The Florence Police Department brought back ‘Coffee with a Cop’ to connect with their community

FLORENCE, Ala. (WAFF) -The Florence Police Department has decided to bring back a community event that they call “Coffee with a Cop.”

Officers said it has been a while since they have hosted one but now they will bring it back every few months. The event was back today at Cafe De Frida in Florence. Around 10 community members showed up.

Officer Josh Meza said that did not bring down his spirit and he’s confident he will see more people at the next one. Many of the community members that showed up say they love seeing the police department reach out and get to know them. That is the entire reason Officer Meza said he decided to bring back the event in the first place.

“It humanizes the badge,” Meza said. “It helps people see that we’re just humans and that we’re every day people. We have families and all kinds of stuff like that. They can kind of relate to us more. If they see us out in the community working a wreck or on a call or something we may not come across as approachable. It helps give us an opportunity to be approachable to the community.”

Meza said he wants the community to be more comfortable around police officers in the area.

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