‘Coffee With a Cop’ takes place downtown on Thursday

Ever needed a police officer in downtown Windsor? Now’s your chance to sit down and chat with several.

In co-operation with the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association, members of the Windsor Police Service will be joining a “Coffee With a Cop” event in the city’s core on Thursday afternoon.

The event is part of a series of meetings between the public and police locally and across North America. The “Coffee With a Cop” movement began in California in 2011 as a way to bring law enforcement members together with the communities they serve.

Windsor police spokesman Sgt. Steve Betteridge said these casual events are of great benefit to front line officers as they take “the pulse” of area neighbourhoods. “There were some on Drouillard Road. We had one in South Windsor. We’ve had a few similar initiatives in other parts of the city.”

All members of the public are invited to attend, enjoy some complimentary coffee and snacks, and engage Windsor police patrol officers and senior officers in conversation.

The first meeting spot is The Coffee Exchange (266 Ouellette Ave.) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

After that, Windsor police will be visiting Humidor 1 Tobacconist (473 Ouellette Ave.) at 2 p.m., Little India Salon (411 Pelissier St.) at 2:30 p.m., and Bread Meats Bread (33 Chatham St. East) at 3 p.m.

At each downtown business, officers will be available for discussion on any community issue.

“It goes both ways: Citizens may have questions about the duties of Windsor police officers, and at the same time, we get to have a casual atmosphere where we can interact with the public and find out their concerns,” Betteridge said.