Apopka enjoys coffee with cops

Apopka Police Department mingles with the public at McDonald's on Main Street

What prompted your last conversation with a police officer? Chances are it was some kind of crisis or traffic issue that left little time for any conversation beyond the situation at hand. The Apopka Police Department uses the Coffee with a Cop program to provide a unique opportunity for officers to interact with the Apopka community in an informal setting.

The McDonald's on Main Street hosted Apopka’s fourth Coffee with a Cop this year, and many citizens took advantage to have one-on-one conversations with the officers.

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Coffee with A Cop was launched in Hawthorne, California in 2011. Read more about the program here. Members of the Hawthorne Police Department were looking for ways to interact more successfully with the citizens they served each day. These brainstorming sessions led to the idea of having coffee with members of the community they serve.

This was the fourth Coffee with a Cop event in Apopka this year. All four were co-hosted by the Apopka Police Department and the McDonald’s restaurants on Main Street and Rock Springs Road.

“This is an opportunity to meet the community one-on-one in a neutral setting,” said Chief McKinley. “Instead of during a crisis which typically brings law enforcement officers and community members together.”