By Anita Weier
Northside News

Coffee with a Cop started in downtown Madison coffee shops, and Northside police decided to try it in this area. “It started slowly in 2016, with very few people coming to a coffee shop or people’s homes,” said Neighborhood Resource Officer David Dexheimer, who organizes and leads the sessions.

Then former Alder Dorothy Borchardt suggested they try meeting at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. The free meetings were initially held in the lobby, but soon outgrew that space. Now sessions are held in the Meeting Room at 9 am on the third Thursday of each month, and attract 40 or more attendees.

“Attendance is pretty darn strong. The Northside sessions are the only ones who get those kinds of numbers,” Dexheimer said. “That is a tribute to the people who go consistently. Some of the speakers have said we are doing something special up here.”

The format includes a guest speaker who is a specialist in some aspect of policing. They have included an investigator, a property manager, an educational resource officer and someone from the violent crimes unit.

“Residents get to meet other people in the department and learn about what they do. We keep it to one hour,” Dexheimer said. He said there is strong support by command staff to keep the program going when he retires.

The regulars are mainly retired people who support the police. But it’s not just applause, as hard questions are sometimes asked.

“We try to diversify but an evening session at Vera Court did not work so well,” Dexheimer said. Nights are also a busier time for police.

Jan Schmidt, who has attended Coffees with a Cop with her husband Karl for about six months, said, “We enjoy their presentations and plan to continue to come. It helps us keep up on what is going on and hear about events from their perspective.” 

Jim Mand also enjoys the sessions and says they have given him insight into all the different facets of police work. “I have had a longtime interest in police work and took a criminal investigations class in college,” he said. “I have been attending monthly since July 2017. I think I have only missed twice.”