The Federal Way Police Department is joining the inaugural “National Coffee with a Cop Day,” and the city’s officers are inviting everyone in the community to stop in for a cup.

On Friday, Oct. 7, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., Federal Way Police officers will post up at Poverty Bay Cafe & Coffee Co. (1108 S. 322nd Place) to chat about anything visitors want to talk about.

“The event is agenda-free,” the department said in a release. “No speeches or specific topics, just informal conversations about what matters to community residents.”

“Coffee with a Cop” was first held in California by the Hawthorne Police Department in 2011 in response to tensions between the police and the community. In the time since, the meet-and-sip event has spread to all 50 states and to a handful of departments in Australia and Europe.

“Coffee with a Cop is a purposeful opportunity to build relationships in order to better problem-solve with the people officers serve,” the department said. “FWPD wants to continue the effort to help break down barriers, so they will follow the simple plan: Officers invite residents to join them for a cup of coffee and a conversation.”

In an interview, Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock said the department had been looking for a way to get back to informal community meetings for a few years. When multiple police departments in the U.S. started coordinating their respective klatches to occur on a single day, Federal Way gladly joined in – on short notice.

Luckily, the owners of Poverty Bay Cafe were more than accommodating, offering to donate a healthy amount of coffee and some pastries to the event.

“They were just open arms,” Schrock said. “‘Just do it, just tell us what you want,’ that sort of thing.”

Information on the national “Coffee with a Cop” program can be found at coffeewithacop.com.