Relations between police and communities across the United States have been recently riddled in turmoil and controversy.

One police department in our region is taking a stand to counter skewed perceptions.

Corporal Charles Streightiff is a life-long resident of Huntingdon County. Now, working as an officers with Huntingdon Borough Police, he’s seen a lot of change.

“There used to be a time when all of the residents knew all of the police officers that were here,” he said. “Through retirement and through moving on of other officers, we sort of lost touch.”

Losing touch as a 10-person police department, in Streightiff’s eyes, is a detriment.

“We can’t be everywhere all the time, so we rely heavily on residents here of what they see and what they hear so that we can follow up and investigate and do what we need to do,” Cpl. Streightiff said.

Greg Anderson and his wife will host “Coffee with a Cop” at their shop, Standing Stone Coffee Company, on Mifflin Street. They hope to facilitate constructive conversation.

“We like to be a place of bridge-building in different aspects of the community, where folks can share a cup of coffee and actually connect with each other,” Anderson said. “Just being honest about where we’re at on drug issues in the community or safety issues in certain neighborhoods.”

“Coffee with a Cop” will begin on Thursday, April 6th at 5:00 p.m. and will wrap up at 7:00 p.m.

“This type of event brings those residents face to face with us and we can talk about those issues or any concerns that they may have,” Cpl. Streightiff said.