India, Sept. 8 -- On a humid afternoon in Norwich, Connecticut, the familiar jingle of an ice cream truck floated through the air. But when children dashed outside, they didn't find a neighborhood vendor - they found uniformed police officers, scooping out free Italian ices and popsicles from a van plastered with the words "Copsicle Patrol."

Across the country, police departments are trading in cruisers for cones, rolling out ice cream trucks with playful slogans like "To Protect and Soft Serve" and "Freeze! You have the right to remain frozen." Behind the whimsy lies a serious purpose: repairing strained relationships with communities, one ice cream sandwich at a time.

With the mission, police is aiming to win back the trust bring erod...