EDMONDS, Wash. -- After 18 years in law enforcement, Carl Orsi has consumed more than his share of coffee. It runs through his veins, much like his commitment to police officers everywhere.
Orsi and his wife Cheri moved to Edmonds when he retired from the Berkley, California Police Department. His career saw the start of the crack cocaine epidemic, the Rodney King riots, and more murders than he can remember. But it was what he watched from the safety of his living room this summer -- the ambush-style slaughter of five Dallas police officers at a Black Lives Matter rally -- that impacted him in a way he has never experienced before.
"The job is hard enough. Now you've got people targeting police officers just for the fact they wore a blue uniform," Orsi said.
Not long after the Dallas killings, Orsi decided to get into the coffee business. He founded Thin Blue Line Coffee," a reference to the "thin blue line" of police that protects people from criminals.
Proceeds from the sale of his coffee go to Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), an organization that supports families of police killed in the line of duty.
"Once you're in the law enforcement family, you're in the family for good," said Orsi. "I just want to take care of family."
Orsi says the business is not political, but that hasn't stopped some from posting on his Facebook page that he is part of the problem.
"One person said I have the blood of victims on my hands," he said, shaking his head.
Orsi sees the venture as simply a way to support people who have lost a loved one. It's a cause he believes everyone can get behind regardless of color or politics.
"Because it doesn't just affect the officer. It affects the family, their teammates, the whole community."
Thin Blue Line Coffee is only available on-line, right now. Visit Orsi's ThinBlueLineCoffee.com for more information.
