Talk about brewing conversations.
National Coffee with a Cop Day, which occurs annually on the first Wednesday in October, is a day “dedicated to encourage communication and positive interactions between law enforcement agencies and the public,” according to the official Coffee with a Cop website.
In an effort to establish continuous camaraderie between law enforcement and community members, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies were present at Starbucks, at the intersection of Newhall Ranch Road and Bouquet Canyon Road, Wednesday morning.
SCV deputies, who often facilitate their own Coffee with a Cop events once a month to foster connections with residents, answered questions, met new faces and received praises between the hours of 8 to 11 a.m.
Sgt. Johnny Gillespie said that residents’ comments can often range from “thank yous” to asking personal questions.
“We pick different locations once a week where locations will sometimes reach out to us or we reach out to coffee shops within the Santa Clarita Valley. Since today was National Coffee with a Cop Day, we tried to pick a bigger and more neutral location for everyone,” Gillespie said. “We’re here to make contact with the community. They come here and ask us questions and say, ‘Thank you for your service.’ They turn into regular conversations.”
Gillespie, who also lives in the city, doesn’t mind answering questions.
“I think we need to be transparent with the community, and we have to give them a way to meet and greet us and ask us those questions. A lot of times people think they have one idea of what we do, and then they come here and they’re like, ‘Oh, you guys are just normal people. You’re easy to talk to,’” Gillespie said. “Everyone’s more relaxed around here. This gives people a chance to come ask questions and build that community.”
Deputy Mariela Picard, public information officer with the station, said that kids also come and have questions about the roles of deputies.
“We had a couple of kids come out, and they have questions for us, too. Like, ‘How do you like your job?’ or if we work in jails, our day-to-day responsibilities, our uniforms,” Picard said. “Overall, the questions [and concerns] I’ve heard from everyone are regular instances like, ‘My neighbors are being loud,’ those kinds of questions. Simple community concerns.”
Canyon Country residents Michael and Kathleen Angulo came to their first Coffee with a Cop to ask questions regarding their specific neighborhood.
“I’m a very active member of the Elks Lodge, and have been for 15 years, and my wife’s father was in law enforcement. She saw this on Facebook, so she actually got up early this morning to come and talk to the deputies,” Angulo said. “We’ve been seeing more police activity in the neighborhood and asking if there’s anything that we should be concerned about, because it’s been a very quiet neighborhood.”
Angulo said that although Santa Clarita’s population has increased over recent years, deputies are people who continue to keep the crime rate relatively low.
“I think it’s really important that people realize that these guys are people, too, that have just decided to take a really strong or difficult job. We’re fortunate in Santa Clarita to have a low crime rate. The more people that we have, the more that the Sheriff’s Department has to grow with us,” Angulo said.
Showing up a little before 9 a.m., Kathleen took the opportunity to express concerns over incidents she has read online.
“I discussed a culmination of incidents that I’ve been reading on Facebook over the years, such as class disruptions, street racing, e-bikes. The police are dealing with problems created at home. People have to start taking ownership and stop blaming the people that are trying to contain it,” Kathleen said. “If these conversations came up with the deputies, their response was, ‘Thank you for noticing.’”
Kathleen believes that residents should take advantage of events, like Wednesday’s, to put a face to those at the forefront of the community.
“Put a face to the name, meet these people, talk with these people. Know that they’re not your enemy. They’re out here, and they want the same thing we all do,” Kathleen said. “They want their families to be safe. They want to come home to their families safe every night. They’re out here to keep you safe.”
