Friday is National Coffee with a Cop Day and more than 2,000 law enforcement agencies are taking part in the event.
About a dozen cops are standing in the parking lot of a gas station in central Stockton, coffee in hand, talking to the public.
Among the people here is Anthony Ruiz who’s come to know some of the officers here.
“There is a face and a personality, and a character behind the badge that most people don’t see,” says Ruiz.
Coffee with a Cop began five years ago in Hawthorne, California to try ease tensions between police and the community.
Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones says at first his department had the event every couple of months, now it’s every couple of weeks.
“An officer gets to know this community member, maybe a little bit about their history or their neighborhood history and when we get to know each other, that’s where we make progress and we build trust and that’s what today’s about,” says Jones.
For this gathering there are no speeches or forms to fill out, just a bit of caffeine and casual conversation.
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