Buy a cop a coffee?

[ervaztec]

The other side of holding cops accountable for their abuses is to show respect to the good ones and the tough job they do. Buying their coffee is a great way to do that.

[Falconis]

My buddy had coffee bought for him by Jennifer Love Hewitt...

Man, actually kind of jealous. and it jumped Ms. Hewitt up a factor of 20 on the hotness scale for me too.

[Arkangel86]

Not LEO but a FF, when weve had someone buy our coffee we pay it forward and pay for the next 4 drinks in line.

[Falconis]

We had a former chief that tried to hang a few cops for accepting a bribe on that sort of stuff. I think it was at that point we started whistling the circus toon before line up every morning.

I did have a restaurant owner tell me it was cheaper to give cops discounts than hiring security my rookie year. That statement kind of gelled as to why all the taco truck guys gave us free stuff and only made us pay for our drinks. Let's say the waitresses were usually very happy with us as I was schooled in the ways of tipping and the taco truck guys usually got good money in their tip jars too.

[SquareLite]

If it is a kind gesture, I will gladly accept. If there is any agenda behind it, it may or may not be considered a bribe. Resturants often give discounts to LE and other uniformed Personnel. I never argue with the price, but I always leave enough to cover the full price of the meal. You won't see me on 20/20 explaining why I feel entitled to things that the general public doesn't receive.

[bigmike82]

Whenever I've done it, i try to be as anonymous as possible. Last time i picked up the check for a pair of ccpd officers i specifically asked the waitress not to tell them who it was from. It prevents the entire potential conflict of interest thing and i feel better as I'm not doing it to get anything out of it.

[Just-in]

For those of you guys who say no baseball caps, try losing a few of those hats after a foot chase. Caps are cheaper to replace.

Im not agaibst them however thats a good point.

[softscrubb]

I think the policies that cover no gratuities or free drinks should really be focused at the business who tries to entice the officers to hang out all day by giving them free meals or by trying to get 'favors'. I think if the average citizen wants to give a cop working a traffic post a bottle of water, or someone caught in the rain a cup of coffee.. I think it goes well to help bridge the gap between cops and the public. Thanks for thinking of us!

[Tripper]

Funny
One just bought me a cup of coffee
(A cop that is)

[Gryff]

There are many times when I am in Starbucks after work and a couple of leo's will be behind me. Is it poor form or unacceptable for me to show a little appreciation and buy their drinks? I'm not sure they are even allowed to accept so I've been reluctant to offer. Any thoughts?

Where I live, we get some great coverage by CHP and Alameda SO (we have no PD of our own). If I see a LEO behind me at Starbucks, I will regularly give the counter person my Starbucks card and tell them to put the LEO's coffee on it, but not to tell the LEO who did it.

I want them to know that there are appreciated other than when people are in trouble, but I also don't want them to feel like I'm sucking up to them or that they need to thank me.

[CRQuarto]

It's a nice gesture, and appreciated very much. I'll usually attempt to decline, but if someone insists as a way to say thank you for serving, I won't be rude. That being said, I leave a tip at the register to make up for the cost, or buy the next person's cup. Pay it forward is a great way to show other folks that there are good people out there, both civilian and sworn alike. It's a community, you have to show you enjoy working for them.

[Tripper]

We have a neighborhood watch group that puts money on a card thing at a local 7/11, available to any cop that gets coffee there

[Tripper]

news story about it

http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/salinas/salinas-resident-says-thank-you-with-coffee-for-cops/-/5738906/21390526/-/g5u3o9/-/index.html

[SloChicken]

I feel weird getting a free coffee from someone and always attempt to turn it down (doesn't always work). Yesterday someone infront of me at the drive through at Starbucks bought me a coffee and drove away. I payed it forward and put $5 on the guy behind me.

I came back to our rig about a month ago and there was a $20 bill and a note with a pay it forward memo attached to it.
I let my crew decide what to do with it and they bought some kids frozen yogurts later in the day.
Good stuff. We have a policy against accepting gratuities but what do you do when it is sitting under your windshield wiper.

Earlier on in my career when I was working in a hospital, over the course of about an hour we resuscitated some older fellow that was in respiratory failure right in front of his hot *** daughters and family no less! Once he was stabilized, they wanted to know if I was married and how did I like the idea of taking on their last name! LOL.
Fast forward a few days. I was getting to the end of my last shift for the week and went to say goodbye to the guy.
He said something to his wife in Italian, she closed the door to his room, went to the closet and came back with a stack of 20s! She wanted me to take it. I politely declined, as that certainly is less than ethical. He said something more to her in Italian, and she translated that he said he wanted me to "go buy myself some coffee with it"! LOL
Didn't take the money, but I did appreciate the effort on their part. Just a really great old man and family tho. I was happy to be able to help. That was enough satisfaction for me.

Still know his daughters, but sadly, never did end up marrying one of them ... Damn they are fine too!

The cost of staying away from slippery slopes hurts sometimes.

[Tripper]

.
Good stuff. We have a policy against accepting gratuities but what do you do when it is sitting under your windshield wiper.
.

You report the vandalism and arrest them bastards