Two South-Asian Brantford Police officers gave the usual Coffee With a Cop outreach event a cultural twist on Saturday, inviting people to Chaii With a Cop as a way of connecting to Brantford’s South-Asian population.
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Constables Adil Khalqi and Mubashir Chaudhary chatted up regular customers and those who stopped in with questions for them, over cups of spicy tea at the newly opened Chaiiwala on Lynden Road.
“Coffee With a Cop is an idea that’s existed for many years now but we are members of a racialized South Asian community and so are the owners and employees of this cafe,” said Khalqi.
“We wanted to bridge that gap from the get-go and this lets the public talk about their concerns and ask questions they may not normally ask a police officer, like what they can do to become an officer or how to improve neighbourhood safety.”
The concept is important as Brantford is growing quickly and diversity is more evident, the officer said.
Brantford Police is working hard to “embody diversity” in its service and partnerships, he said.
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“We are trying to understand the challenges that might be unique to the cultures or religions of others to build a trust that will help us in fighting crime and keeping our community safe.”
Chaiiwala co-owners Fayez Qureshi and Kashif Yamin were happy to invite the constables to tea.
Yamin said the new cafe is a one-of-a-kind eatery for Brantford with South-Asian-meets-Canadian options for everyone, including butter chicken poutine and ice cream based desserts.
“We have breakfasts, hot drinks, desserts and all our meat is halal so a South-Asian Muslim can enjoy our sausage sandwiches.”
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