Crime & Safety

Coffee With A Cop 2020: Events In DC

While this year's national observance was postponed, law enforcement is moving forward with Coffee With A Cop events in D.C.

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Coffee With A Cop is planned Oct. 7 this year. While the national observance was called off, local law enforcement agencies are planning their own events.
Coffee With A Cop is planned Oct. 7 this year. While the national observance was called off, local law enforcement agencies are planning their own events. (Courtesy of Rick Uldricks)

WASHINGTON, DC — While this year’s national Coffee With A Cop observance was called off recently due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, law enforcement agencies in D.C. are moving forward with their own events in hopes of connecting with the communities they serve.

National Coffee With A Cop Day is Oct. 7 this year, and the Metropolitan Police Department has the following events planned in D.C.:

  • First District, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Starbucks (Liberty Plaza), 325 7th St., N.W.
  • Second District, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Starbucks (Cathedral Commons), 3416 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
  • Third District, 1o-11:30 a.m., Starbucks (Columbia Heights), 3107 14th St., N.W.
  • Third District, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Starbucks (Adams Morgan), 1801 Columbia Road, N.W.
  • Fourth District, 1o: a.m.-12:30 p.m., Starbucks (Catholic University), 620 Michigan Ave., N.E.
  • Fifth District, 9-11 a.m., Starbucks (NoMa), 1160 1st St., N.E.
  • Sixth District, 10 a.m.-12 p.m, Starbucks (Milestone Senior Facility - Parking Lot), 3605 Minnesota Ave., N.E.
  • Seventh District, 8:30-10:30 a.m., Starbucks (MLK Avenue, Anacostia), 2228 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., S.E.
  • Special Liaison Branch, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Starbucks (14th and H Street), 1401 New York Ave., N.W.
  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit, 5-7 p.m., Starbucks, 625 H St., N.E.

Coffee With A Cop originally launched in 2011 in Hawthorne, California, a result of officers from the Hawthorne Police Department looking for ways to interact more successfully with the citizens they served.

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The event went national in all 50 states in 2016 to promote positive interaction between law enforcement officers and the public. It first started as part of National Community Policing Week and is now held annually the first Wednesday in October.

“Coffee With A Cop is community policing at its core,” former COPS Office Director Ronald L. Davis said in a statement. “The simple act of having a cup of coffee with community members can be the first step in increasing trust and cooperation between the police and the people they serve.”

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In a separate statement, Coffee With A Cop administrator Michael Ishii said the past six months for law enforcement have been “some of the most challenging times we have faced in our careers.” But despite nationwide protests and, in some cases, violence, Ishii said it’s “inspiring and humbling to see officers and staff doing their best serving our respective communities.”

White the national observance was postponed, Ishii said it’s up to local agencies to plan and move forward with events if reopening guidelines allow.

“These events are sometimes more important for our officers than for the community,” he said. “It is important that our line-level patrol officers have an opportunity to meet regular folks and have a normal conversation. Coffee With A Cop is the event that allows us to do that.”

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