Bensalem Copsicle Shows Kids How Cool Cops Can Be
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Free Ice Cream. How cool is that? In Bensalem, Bucks County Pa., an idea has taken shape to put police officers in a positive light. It'[s called the “Copsicle”. It is an old mini school bus re made into an ice cream truck. It will sho0w up to community events and it will cruise neighborhoods in search of kids that want free ice cream. They should be easy to find this summer.
The purpose is to foster community relations with the community. Across the nation, there are lots of negative reports about police interactions. Bensalem Police hope to change that and have people come away with positive experiences with police. “There is no schedule, this truck will show up whenever and wherever,” said Fred Harran, Director of Public Safety for Bensalem Twp. It will be at community events .
According to Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo , this was all done with donations. “It did not cost the tax payers one cent”. The ice cream was donated by Philadelphia Water Ice, and other community partners like Creekside Apartments donated money and merchants sold it to the township at cost. Community organizer Frank Schilling was instrumental in getting the donations together. Schilling works with Harvest Ministries to help put food on the table of people that need it.
Manning the truck on it’s maiden voyage were officers Tim Henehan and Alan Wolfinger. As kids would approach the window and place an order, Henehan would be in the back of the truck, getting the orders ready. The two worked at a frantic pace, as the truck was put in service. Bad weather did not stop people from coming out. In fact, minutes after five year old Jawad Nesseiwat got the first Ice Cream Sandwich, the rain stopped and clear skies prevailed.