22 / matters magazine / school 2018 I t’s Friday evening and Starbucks is abuzz with the usual activity of a coffee shop. Patrons or- der drinks, people hover in conversation, and students work away on their laptops. Amid the hubbub, four Maplewood police officers are chat- ting everyone up. If it weren’t for their uniforms, they’d blend in with the rest of the crowd. But they’re here with a mission: to forge relationships by simply getting to know people in the town. Called Cof- fee with a Cop, this is the first of many events that the newly-formed community service bureau plans to hold. Assembled just four months ago, it’s been Deputy Chief Albert Sally’s dream for years: to have a dedicated unit whose goal is to get to know residents, be a resource for them, and bridge the gap between the Police Depart- ment and the community it serves. The need for com- munity policing, as it is also called, became increasingly urgent last summer with the removal of the police chief amidst a police brutality scandal. Knowing the depart- ment needed to repair its relations with the community, the newly-appointed chief of police, James DeVaul, gave Sally his wish. Sally wasted no time and, together with DeVaul, hand-picked the officers to work in the community ser- vice bureau, ensuring that it was as diverse as the com- munity it serves. According to Sally, you can’t put just anybody in this job. “It takes a certain person who wants to be out there getting to know business owners and residents. You have to have a passion for it...you have to want to do it.” He appointed 16-year veteran and lifelong Maplewoodian Detective Sergeant Michael Pal- merezzi as the leader of a team whose other members are Walking To a New Beat Maplewood police officers want to get to know you BY ELLEN DONKER Officer Matthew Jones represents the community service bureau by helping at the bouncy house on one of the summer's movie nights.