ASHLAND — Officers of the law swarmed a local coffee shop on Franklin Avenue early Friday morning.
Instead of wielding weapons, however, they brandished cups of Goldberry coffee.
Officers from Ashland Police Division, the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ashland County Common Pleas probation department showed up to Goldberry’s newly renovated space for the first Coffee with a Cop event since late 2022.
“This is the biggest one we’ve ever seen,” said Dave Lay, chief of the Ashland Police Division.
The event, sponsored by the City of Ashland, aims at giving people the chance to get to know members of local law enforcement without an agenda.
Lay said he typically invites the sheriff’s office and OSHP. He said normally around a dozen officers attend. On Friday, there were around 20 officers.
Building trust
“I really appreciate the job they do,” said Doug Cooper, Goldberry’s owner, while nursing a steaming cup of black coffee. He said he’s always had a positive view of law enforcement, and local government in general.
“By policy, we give free coffee to people in uniform. We’ve always tried to do that,” he said.
Friday’s event was a little way for him to thank those in blue, he said.
“I think being around them helps people build trust — just be with them a little bit,” Cooper said.
Carl “Ross” Oehling, 80, spoke with several officers on Friday, a beige cup of coffee in-hand. Mostly on his mind were the Amish, and a particular local clan’s defiance to a newly passed law that requires all buggies to display flashing lights.
“(Ashland County Sheriff’s Office) brought around 40 Amish in,” he said, referencing those charged with violating the new law. “But I think they need to bring more in.”
Oehling was part of Ashland’s Amish Buggy Committee, formed and disbanded in the 1990s, to pass a state law that required buggies to display slow-moving vehicle signs.
But it wasn’t all business on Oehling’s mind. He asked deputies about family members, shook hands and smiled a lot.
“Yeah, I know a lot of them. I should have known them when I was young, when I got picked up,” he said, sparking laughter among those around him. When the laughter died down, Oehling reminded everyone it’s important to show appreciation.
“They put their lives on the line everyday, you know,” he said.
Amanda Furman, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office, said the city hopes to sponsor another Coffee with a Cop event in April.
Furman said the city plans on sponsoring the popular Cones with a Cop events starting in June.