The San Diego Community College District Police Department hosted “Coffee with Cops” Oct. 18 at Gorton Quad, a meet-and-greet event for students to familiarize themselves with the district’s police and ask them questions over coffee.

“We want the campus and the students to know that we are part of the education process,” said Charles Hogquist, district chief of police.

Hogquist said that because City College is a multicultural community, students from backgrounds where officers are seen as oppressors or demand bribes might be apprehensive around the district’s police. Part of the purpose of “Coffee with Cops,” he said, was to change the perspectives of those students.

Hogquist said he does not want a student whose immigration status is in question to refrain from approaching district police for help.

“I don’t care about their immigration status,” he said.

Jeff Rabine, a detective with the district who was at the event, said he expected students to have questions regarding skateboarding regulations, the issue of homelessness around the campus, and tickets for parking or moving violations. Before the event was officially scheduled to begin, two students asked Rabine, who is also a recruiter for the department, how to go about applying for a job with the district police.

Police were able to offer information on some of the district’s safety programs, including its Rape Aggression Defense class, a 12-hour course offered to women who are faculty, staff or students in the district on how to defend themselves in a sexual assault.

The department plans to repeat “Coffee with Cops” in two weeks for three consecutive weeks at the district’s other campuses, Miramar, Educational Cultural Complex and Mesa, according to Rabine.

For more information on the districts RAD classes go to www.police.sdccd.edu.