Law enforcement offices around the country are working very hard to engage with the community through events that are not associated with any kind of emergency call. Often called ‘Coffee with a Cop’, the agencies have patrol and non-patrol staff meet with the community to give residents a chance to see the people behind the badge.
Dakota County held their first version of Coffee with a Cop at Froth and Cork on May 9. Five employees of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) were available to chat for an hour and a half Thursday morning. The idea is simple. Talk, ask questions, see the human side of the job, and as the popular social media video that has been circulating, “saw the weird thing” meaning don’t be afraid to ask weird questions. The deputies have a much better sense of humor than most people think they do.
As the second floor of Froth and Cork filled up, more people began to interact with the DCSO folks and eventually, Hastings Police Office’s Community Engagement Officer Whitney Rinowski crashed the party. She said she felt taunted to appear because Froth and Cork sits right across from City Hall.
The Reality is, Officer Rinowski was checking in on the Sound the Siren competition between the two offices and Deputy Hanah Martin is the DCSO’s lead on their side for the contest. It made for quite the amusing interaction.
Saturday, May 11, DCSO had their second event, their open house. There were plenty of things for families to see and do at the open house with demonstrations for the dive team and the drone team plus most of the major cities in Dakota County had a booth with their police departments on hand. Of course, all of the booths had some kind of giveaway. The kids were allowed to explore the various squad cars and other tactical vehicles. It was an overall successful event.
The list of participants for the first ever DCSO open house is quite extensive too.
DCSO specialty units: Drone Team, Dive Team, Investigations/Crime Scene Van, Parks, Lakes, and Trails, and K9s Zeus and Vader.
Informational booth: Civil, Warrants, Records, Gun Permits.
Agencies in attendance: Apple Valley, Hastings Police Department, Rosemount Police Department, Lakeville Police Department, Inver Grove Heights Police Department, and Eagan Police Department.
Other: Hastings Fire Department, United Way, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, Dakota County Crisis Response, South Metro SWAT, Dakota 911, Army National Guard, and Mirror Me Perfect Photo Booth.
Food Trucks: Caffeinated Rooster, Unbakeable, Taqueria El Hausteco.
