Would you randomly hug a cop?

Newark police (Newark, Delaware not Newark, New Jersey) started this initiative last month. Now Chatham police have picked up on it. Could this be the new ice bucket challenge? Police wandering the streets offering free hugs to any citizens who want, or need, one.

It is estimated it takes 10 positive encounters with police to erase 1 negative encounter. With all the bad publicity police departments have gotten over the past year, this is definitely a way to show police as human beings. The authorities in Chatham said when they did their own hug a cop on Saturday, it also opened up a lot of lines of communication. Not a bad thing.