National Coffee with a Cop Day2026 · Date · History · Messages
Coffee with a Cop and the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office verify the program’s 2011 Hawthorne Police Department origin, the first national day on October 7, 2016, and the later/current first-Wednesday-in-October annual recurrence.
About National Coffee with a Cop Day
National Coffee with a Cop Day is a United States community-policing observance held on the first Wednesday in October.
The broader Coffee with a Cop program began with the Hawthorne Police Department in California in 2011; the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office and Hawthorne Police Department conducted the first national day on October 7, 2016.
Why National Coffee with a Cop Day matters
The program’s stated purpose is to create informal opportunities for community members and law-enforcement personnel to talk in a neutral setting without a formal agenda.
The observance is a program event rather than a statutory U.S. holiday, and participation is voluntary for community members.
History of National Coffee with a Cop Day
Coffee with a Cop began in Hawthorne, California, in 2011 as a local police-community conversation program.
On October 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office announced Friday, October 7, 2016 as the first National Coffee with a Cop Day in partnership with the Hawthorne Police Department.
A 2018 COPS Office letter described National Coffee with a Cop Day as an annual first-Wednesday-in-October event, and Coffee with a Cop’s current materials continue that recurrence.
The inaugural 2016 national date and the later recurring first-Wednesday rule are kept as separate lifecycle facts rather than rewritten into a single retroactive rule.
How the observance developed
This timeline uses documented milestones from reviewed sources. Missing stages are left out rather than guessed.
Local Coffee with a Cop program
The Hawthorne Police Department’s 2011 local Coffee with a Cop program spread nationally and became the basis for the first National Coffee with a Cop Day in 2016.
Hawthorne Police Department with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for the national day
The broader Coffee with a Cop program began with Hawthorne Police Department in 2011; the 2016 national day was announced as a COPS Office partnership with Hawthorne.
U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), in partnership with Hawthorne Police Department
COPS Office announcement of National Coffee with a Cop Day
First documented observance
The COPS Office announced Friday, October 7, 2016 as the first National Coffee with a Cop Day.
The national observance moved from the inaugural Friday, October 7, 2016 edition to the first Wednesday in October as the recurring annual rule used by later/current program materials.
Coffee with a Cop program / COPS Office
Coffee with a Cop, Inc. was established as a nonprofit corporation and now maintains the national program resources.
Coffee with a Cop, Inc. · Nonprofit corporate organization
Coffee with a Cop, Inc.
Current Coffee with a Cop materials maintain the National CWAC Day page, annual recurrence and organizer resources; the organization’s history says Coffee with a Cop, Inc. became a nonprofit corporation in 2018.
What the evidence establishes
Confirmed institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Details that could not be established from the reviewed sources are listed separately below.
2 fields not established in reviewed sources
Predecessor and precursor observances
Earlier or merged observances are kept separate from former names and later institutional actions.
Later institutional actions
Later recognition, renaming, mergers or date changes are kept separate from original establishment.
How to Observe National Coffee with a Cop Day
Attend an advertised local event if you want an informal opportunity to ask questions or share community concerns.
Choose a non-caffeinated drink or no drink at all if coffee does not suit you; the conversation is the program focus.
Before discussing a personal matter, protect your privacy and consider whether sensitive information is better handled through an appropriate private or formal channel.
For youth events, use ordinary safeguarding and guardian/school procedures rather than pressuring minors to interact or share personal information.
Organizers can provide accessible locations, clear participation information and alternatives for people who do not want photographs or public-facing engagement.
National Coffee with a Cop Day Facts
The broader Coffee with a Cop program began with the Hawthorne Police Department in 2011.
The COPS Office announced October 7, 2016 as the first national Coffee with a Cop Day.
Current Coffee with a Cop materials place the annual national day on the first Wednesday in October.
Coffee with a Cop, Inc. was established as a nonprofit corporation in 2018 according to the program’s own history.
The reviewed sources describe a community-policing program; they do not establish National Coffee with a Cop Day as a statutory public holiday.
National Coffee with a Cop Day Messages
Wishing communities a constructive National Coffee with a Cop Day with respectful, voluntary conversation.
May National Coffee with a Cop Day create space for people who choose to participate to ask questions and listen to one another.
Here’s to accessible, respectful community conversations on National Coffee with a Cop Day.
Wishing everyone who joins a local Coffee with a Cop event a safe, respectful and useful conversation.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
Evidence & sources
Sources used across the guide are gathered here. Labels show how each source supports the page, and contextual references are kept separate from primary evidence.
U.S. DOJ COPS Office — 2018 National Coffee with a Cop Day letter (opens in a new tab)
Federal Primary
U.S. DOJ COPS Office — Department of Justice Announces National Coffee with a Cop Day (opens in a new tab)
Federal Primary
Coffee With A Cop — About / program history (opens in a new tab)
Organizer First Party
Coffee With A Cop — National CWAC Day (opens in a new tab)
Organizer First Party
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then compare closely related observances and explore useful connections.
Frequently asked questions
When is National Coffee with a Cop Day?
First Wednesday in October The documented recurrence rule is: First Wednesday in October.
Does National Coffee with a Cop Day fall on the same date every year?
It follows a recurring calendar rule, so the Gregorian date can change from year to year.
Is National Coffee with a Cop Day an official public holiday?
The reviewed sources verify it within this scope: United States / community-policing program. That recognition does not by itself make it a statutory public holiday; the site only makes public-holiday claims when reliable evidence explicitly does so.
Who established or recognizes National Coffee with a Cop Day?
The reviewed sources identify U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), in partnership with Hawthorne Police Department as the proclaiming or establishing body. The proposer or originator is recorded separately as Hawthorne Police Department with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for the national day. Current facilitation or coordination is recorded as Coffee with a Cop, Inc..
Is National Coffee with a Cop Day international or country-specific?
This observance is specific to United States. Its fuller verified scope is: United States / community-policing program.
How is this page verified?
The factual information is checked against reviewed sources, including the date pattern, scope and institutional history. This page was checked on 2026-09-23.
When is National Coffee with a Cop Day?
Current program materials place it on the first Wednesday in October each year.
When was the first national day?
The U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office announced October 7, 2016 as the first National Coffee with a Cop Day.
Who started Coffee with a Cop?
The broader program began with the Hawthorne Police Department in California in 2011; the national day was launched through a COPS Office partnership with Hawthorne Police Department.
Why was the first national day on a Friday if the current rule is first Wednesday?
The inaugural national event was Friday, October 7, 2016. Later official/program materials use the first Wednesday in October as the annual recurrence.
Do I have to drink coffee or talk to police to observe the day?
No. Participation is voluntary, and program materials focus on conversation rather than requiring a particular drink or interaction.
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