Milligan hosted the Elizabethton Police Department in Derthick Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 2 for National Coffee with a Cop Day. In the second-floor lobby, students were invited to enjoy coffee and donuts while getting to know those serving the community on the police force.
The Coffee with a Cop event began four years ago as a part of National Community Policing Week. CWAC Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday of October, and according to the National website, the goal of the event is to “close the gap between the community and the law.”
Lance Peters has been serving on the Elizabethton police force for almost two years. “It is a good way to keep in contact with everyone in the community,” Peters said. “It gives us an opportunity to talk to [students] and answer questions.”
Although it was their first time coming to Milligan’s campus for Coffee with a Cop, members of the Elizabethton Police Department have visited other colleges in the surrounding area before.
Professor of Information Systems Dr. Teresa Carter put the event together with the help of Chief Jason Shaw of the Elizabethton Police Department. The National CWAC website gave Carter all the emblems and supplies needed to create the posters and flyers advertising Milligan’s event.
Shaw presented the idea of hosting the event to Carter after they held a recruitment event on Milligan’s campus in August. “We started planning and talking about it, and everything fell together nicely,” Carter said. “It ended up being a huge success.”
The Information Systems department is developing a law enforcement minor along with three new concentrations and a full forensics lab opening in the spring. Carter felt it was important to make Milligan’s connection with the police force stronger. “We have really made strides to build strong relationships in the last three to four months,” Carter said.
Carter explained how easy it was to work with the local police force. “The Elizabethton Police Department is here anytime we call them,” Carter said. “They are just a great bunch of people, and their hearts are really where they should be; it was a privilege to honor them.”
In the future, Carter hopes to open up Milligan’s Coffee with a Cop event to Carter County’s department and also continue to improve the event. “Even though the event was already successful, I think there is always more we can do,” Carter said.
More information about National Coffee with a Cop can be found at www.coffeewithacop.com
Headline photo: Micah Carrier talks with Elizabethton Police Officers. Photo by AJ Trabold.