The Hopewell Township Police Department will host its first Coffee with a Cop event from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Dunkin Donuts in Pennington on Monday Nov. 9.
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP - The Hopewell Township Police Department will join the Coffee with a Cop movement Monday by inviting residents to meet with officers "in a relaxed setting" and raise any concerns or ideas they may have for the community.
"For most people, their first experience with us is at a traffic stop or in an emergency situation," Detective Michael Sherman said. "It's good for the community to see us as people as well."
The event will be held from 4 - 5:30 p.m. at the Dunkin Donuts located at 1 Tree Farm Rd. in Pennington. So far nine officers will be present at the Nov. 9 event, Sherman said.
Coffee with a Cop is a national movement that started in 2011 as a way to "break down barriers between police officers and the citizens they serve," the organization says.
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Sherman said he joined the movement because of the successes of other local police department Coffee with a Cop events such as the Princeton Police Department - which hosts them regularly, and the police in his hometown of Burlington Township.
"They had good turnouts, some of the feedback was good," Sherman said. "We hope to come away with positive feedback as well."
He added he hopes this will be the first of an annual tradition like National Night Out, which Hopewell Township has participated in for three years now.
Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
