It was probably a good thing there was a sign outside of Starbucks explaining what was going on inside. 
On Tuesday, July 30, 10 uniformed officers from the Sedona Police Department joined Chief Charles Husted during his first Coffee With a Cop since taking over the department’s helm in the spring. 

“I am delighted with the community turnout and level of engagement today,” Husted said following the event. “Coffee With a Cop and similar type gatherings are about coming together with our community and forging collaborative rela­tionships, building trust, exchanging ideas and infor­mation, and identifying common goals. 
The format was casual as attendees were encouraged to ask questions. About a dozen people who arrived at or before the 9 a.m. start time met in a small, enclosed room at the coffeeshop with Husted while anyone else who came in mingled about with their coffee, talking to the other officers on hand. 
“Being the new chief here, this is my first oppor­tunity to host Coffee With a Cop,” he said to some of those in attendance. “I’m used to doing this on a regular basis [in Sacramento, Calif.] so I’m hoping we can continue that.” 

Husted said the department is updating its vision for now and in the future when it comes to community policing and what they are all about. The mantra they’re living by is “self­less service for all.” 
“Obviously we’re service providers but if we’re doing it selfishly, that’s not a good thing,” he said. “Selfless service is the key and it has to be heartfelt and genuine. This is being driven through community, compas­sion and honor. A police department is not worth its weight in gold if it doesn’t have honor.” 
Husted said it’s important residents know those pillars of the department because everyone is part of the same community with the same goals in mind. 

“If you interact with our officers or staff and you don’t feel they acted honorably or compassionately or it wasn’t about selfless service, we need to know that,” he said. “That’s something we need to be able to fix. I know we already provide great community service so it won’t be hard for us to move forward in this aspect. But please remember, your police department is filled with human beings. We’re human just like everyone else — we make mistakes.” 
One of the first questions stemmed from the recent community meeting on short-term vacation rentals. The person wanted to know with an esti­mated 3 million tourists each year, does the police department have enough officers to handle that many people. 

Husted said it’s a bit of a moving target and that he’d always love to have more that the current 27 sworn officers under his command. 
“That said, we do really well with what we have,” he said. “We have a staff that’s very dedicated to their jobs. It’s been very impressive. Coming from another state, I’ve just been so impressed with their work ethic and customer service.” 
Several of the questions posed to Husted dealt with mass shootings, referring to the most recent one on Sunday, July 28, at a community festival in Gilroy, Calif., in which three people were killed. 
“Our staff has been trained in active-shooter drills and response,” he said. “It’s all about preparedness for us. Luckily that’s not happened to us and we hope it never does but we have to be prepared for that. 

“Within this region we have some great partners in Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, Coconino County Sheriff and Department of Public Safety. They will respond in situations like that. Heaven forbid something like that were to happen but we are prepared.”