SACO — The Saco Police Department is welcoming the public to come get to know some of their officers over a cup of coffee on Thursday.

Representatives from the Saco Police Department, including local school resource officers, will be on hand at CIA Cafe, 9 Beach St., from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Local community members are welcome to drop by any time during the two-hour period to chat with officers.

“We’re open to talk about anything,” said Deputy Police Chief Corey Huntress. “Anyone can come by and chat us up.”

The event gives residents a chance to interact with members of the police force in a relaxed atmosphere, said Huntress. It’s also a way for police to foster connections and good relations with the people they serve, and to make police more approachable.

“They can make that connection and put a face to a name,” said Huntress.

Thursday’s Coffee with a Cop will be the third such event with the Saco Police Department. They are also a great way for the police to learn more about the community and learn what issues are important to people, Huntress said..

The CIA Cafe has been a great host, he said, and in past years some of the police officers were even put to work behind the counter, serving coffee and ringing up customers.

Coffee with a Cop events are held by police departments in communities throughout the country. The nationwide program was launched in 2011 by the Hawthorne Police Department in California and a nonprofit organization was established in 2018.

The organization states on its website that the Coffee with a Cop events are “one of the most successful community oriented policing programs across the country.”

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be reached at 780-9015 or by email at egotthelf@journaltribune.com.