ALAMOSA -— Customers of 7 Brew Coffee, the drive-thru beverage stand located on Main Street, were surprised on Wednesday morning when officers with the Alamosa Police Department (APD) engaged them in conversation while they moved through the line to order coffee.
According to information from 7 Brew, the event, which was actually part of national Coffee with a Cop Day, was “an effort to promote meaningful conversations between community members and local law enforcement…and the public is invited to join us in the drive-thru for candid conversations over delicious beverages.”
“It affords us the opportunity to interact with the public in something other than a law enforcement capacity,” said Officer Sanchez. “I think that’s a good thing.”
Sanchez was conversing with Jazmyn Braiden. When asked what she thought of the event, she laughed. “It’s fine because they’re not asking me for my license and registration.”
Another customer said the experience “was cool.”
Cpl. Dominic Khoketkhan, who has been with APD for eight years, said participating in the event was something he and the manager of 7 Brew worked on together. “Everyone is joking around with us and it’s fun. We’re getting compliments and complaints. It’s good to hear people’s concerns,” Khoketkhan said. "It gives us the chance to address them because we can take them back to others at the police department and talk about what we should do.”
In addition to Sanchez and Khoketkhan, Community Services Officer Pablo and Officer Aziz were on site and conversing with customers. It’s not known how many customers APD officers spoke with, but all who participated seemed to enjoy the experience.
