The Franklin Police Department will host its third annual Chicken with a Cop on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Chick-fil-A, 2016 Columbia Ave.
The free, family-friendly event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. and will feature a Touch-a-Truck experience with police vehicles and free giveaways, the department announced in a post on X. Families can meet officers and get an up-close look at the vehicles kids usually only see from the sidewalk.
The event is free.
The announcement follows the department's 10th annual Coffee with a Cop, held Wednesday, Oct. 7, at White Bison Coffee inside Twice Daily at 5060 Carothers Pkwy. Officers gathered from 7 to 8 a.m. while the coffee shop provided free coffee for National Coffee with a Cop Day, according to a city news release.
Marty Carson, a public affairs officer with the Franklin Police Department, told the Williamson Herald that casual events help residents see officers as people. He said many residents see a patrol car and hesitate to approach, so sharing a conversation over coffee shows the public that an officer is "a person, not just a police officer."
Jacqueline Stanton, district manager for White Bison Coffee, said local officers have become regulars at the Twice Daily location.
"We're so appreciative of them," Stanton told the Herald. "They come when we need them, they come when we don't."
White Bison, owned by Tri Star Energy, provides free coffee each year for the event.
The Oct. 7 gathering was part of a string of community outreach efforts. Franklin police also held a Cone with a Cop event on Saturday, Aug. 22, at McDonald's on Village Plains Boulevard, where officers handed out free ice cream cones and displayed equipment including the department's SWAT armored vehicle, according to a city news release.
Chicken with a Cop on Oct. 21 is open to all ages. Residents can learn more about the Franklin Police Department at franklintn.gov.
