Here’s how you can chat with an Essex County OPP officer over coffee

Now’s your chance to ask an Essex County OPP officer any questions you might have or to highlight a local issue you feel needs police attention.

The detachment is hosting “Coffee with a Cop” for police week at cafes across the county – Monday stopping at a Tim Horton’s in Tecumseh and at Twenty Two Coffee House in Belle River.

Insp. Angela Ferguson, the Detachment Commander for the Essex County OPP, says it gives officers a chance to engage with residents they might never meet – considering the sheer size of the division.Essex County OPP officers are chatting with residents over coffee this week for police week on Monday, May 1, 2023. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

“[We are] responsible for Harrow and Kingsville as well as Essex, Leamington, Pelee Island, Tecumseh and Lakeshore,” Insp. Ferguson says.

“There are very different opportunities for policing services in those areas and different priorities that our community members are looking for from us.”

Officers say around 10 residents chatted them up in Tecumseh Monday morning, with another half-dozen stopping by Twenty Two in the afternoon.

Paul Renaud was one of them – saying he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to express his worries about drivers speeding through Belle River.

“I’ve lived here all my life. I’m 74 years old and concerned about it,” he says.

“It’s just gotten worse and worse.”

Renaud says he feels good about having turned out and wishes more residents chose to.

The remainder of the weeks stops have been condensed into Tuesday – so local officers can attend the funeral of Sgt. Eric Mueller in Ottawa.

Here’s where you can grab “Coffee with a Cop” on Tuesday:

• 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Tim Hortons in the Town of Essex (9 Maidstone Ave. East)
• 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at JOE. Hot+Cold in the Town of Kingsville (12 Main Street South)
• 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Lakeside Bakery in the Municipality of Leamington (286 Eerie Street South)