I recall a 24-hour doughnut shop in West Texas used to let cops eat free. They wanted police around, especially late at night. That shop is gone, but I wonder if others in this day and age would still do that.
Takeaway in their cars, if TV drama is to be believed. But m
Most police work doesn’t consist of random touring around, sufficiently far from base and with enough time on their hands to make sitting down in a restaurant a more practicable proposition than either returning to their own canteen (if they’re not likely to be called out to another job) or (if they are) grabbing a takeaway of some sort that can either be stashed for later or jettisoned. After all, what does it do for the police’s public image if people routinely see them sitting around stuffing their faces?
Panera in my neck of the woods would give firefighters, hospital workers, and police officers IN UNIFORM 10% off.
When my son worked overnights at Steak 'n Shake, he’d give them free coffee. That helped him in situations where drunk fights spilled out into the parking lot…he already had the police there.
I have no way of knowing whether you were given special consideration or if the cop would have let you off with a warning regardless. I’ve been given warnings and I’ve never been in a position to do favors for the police. But it can give the impression of favoritism, and that’s a tricky position to be placed in. Police forces often take care to not be seen in that light.
I know the places near VB1 would do that back in the late 80s when mrAru ran ambulance in Virginia Beach. I think a couple places also comped. Though they did request that the guys not discuss work at the table…something about discussing searching for body parts at accident scenes was inhibiting other diner’s comfort:eek:
An absolute oddity when I was working for a security company, once and a while I would have to stop at a couple different convenience stores for gas on the way to work [I did armed guard rounds at a bank op center on Robin Hood Rd in Norfolk VA] at 11 pm, and if I was in uniform I got my coffee and donut free. Freaked me out the few times it happened. [I was running late and went in uniform to save time changing when I got there. Living on 13th Bay St, it wasn’t always the safest idea to wander around after dark alone in a uniform with a sidearm … it could get you shot at.] I mentioned that I wasn’t a cop, and was told by the store owners that I was in a uniform with a badge, and they didn’t care that I wasn’t a cop. Baffling but I guess understandable, I did theoretically protect the property of the bank…
Wow, guys, this thread is blowing my mind. I’ve never seen a uniformed officer pay for anything, ever. I’ve worked food service in the past, and I know a lot of current food service and retail folks in both Illinois and Missouri. Cops don’t pay for anything. How else could you expect them to help you when you actually need them to do their job? If there are laws or ethical guidelines against it, the cops in these states aren’t following them.
Are you serious? Because they are getting paid to do it!
Do firemen get free meals everywhere all the time? Soldiers? Doctors? Airline pilots? Baristas? If not, how do you expect them to do their jobs?
Not serious. But it’s seriously the stated reason these businesses donate meals to police officers, though.
Not generally no. They do it so the cops will be stopping by their establishment, which serves as a warning to anyone who thinks about robbing the place. It’s probably a good idea for the cops to visit different establishments around town, concentrating on areas with a high potential for crime, but it doesn’t imply the police aren’t doing their job to start with. That’s just the selfish motive, some of these establishments also do it because they like the police in general. Now sometimes there are cops who aren’t doing their job if they don’t get some favors, but you can’t generalize that every time a cop gets a free cup of coffee.
I’m not arguing against the practice. I’m just baffled how many people say it is unethical or illegal, considering the prevalence I see around me.
Asking an American cop about his conduct could easily be seen as a challenge to their authori-tah and not end well for the civilian depending on what they look like and what class they belong to.
It is a fuzzy area.
On the one hand, the police are supposed to giv the same service to everyone, and so they are supposed to refuse gifts because that might make it look like the gifter was paying in the hope of getting better service.
On the other hand, free coffee is super cheap.
AND, a blanket policy of refusing gifts often puts the officers in a difficult position.
The chain I work for used to have a blanket policy that their employees would refuse tips. If a customer ever said “keep the change”, we were required to put in in the jar that is collecting for charity.
A few years back they changed that policy. Corporate had noticed that lottery players often want to tip their cashier, and will often get upset if the cashier refuses the tip. So now we can accept tips.
People who had their house saved by the fire department often want to make a gift to the fire department as a way of saying “thank you”, and may get upset if they are told the department has to refuse gifts. Same goes for the police.
So the rules get bent a little. Some gifts are accepted because that’s just good public relations. And each officer decides for themselves where the line between “harmless gift” and “bribery” falls.
And while we all know that the police are supposed to treat everyone the same, we also all believe that having a sticker on our car that shows we donate to the Fraternal Order of Police might turn a ticket into a warning.
Pitching that more favorably: it will make them self-conscious about it. They might pay for a meal they would have gotten for free specifically because they think you might make an issue of it if they don’t.
We used to get a free soda or an occasional meal from certain places. The official stance was that we were supposed to try to pay for it until they insisted we don’t. Even that stopped when David Clarke became Sheriff. Before I retired the policy was to either not take the item or put the money into the tip jar. Don’t know what it is now.
My brother is a park cop. They used to get tons of shit for nothing, especially during the state fair. He could literally get all the cream puffs he could take home. And while working they’d have pallets of soda cases and tons of food from stands in the break room. Not anymore. Same policy, pay for it or put the correct amount in the tip jar or leave it on the counter and walk.
Depending on the situation and how you interpret it, taking free stuff or even a discount could be Misconduct in Public Office. Ain’t worth it and if someone in the general public sees you get something free it looks real bad.
A friend of mine use to work the 12am-8am shift at a 7-11. He brought a portable hibachi to work and every night he fired it up and threw hot dogs, chicken, and burgers on it for law enforcement. He was a police buff and had known many of the local LEOs for years. It was a sight to see.
I currently work at McDonalds, and normally when the cops show up (for food, of course), the food’s on the house, at least according to the manager’s discretion. I suppose it’s due to courtesy or something.
I live near the police academy of NYC (by now ex-, I think). The corner coffee shop does not give them free meals, or the shop would be out of business.
I was pleasantly made aware of that one day when I forgot my wallet on the counter until I was a block away. I ran breathlessly back and was laughed at in a friendly way by the owner and about five or six tables of cops not in uniform.
Speeding is illegal, too, but everyone does it.
I could never convince my mother that was a valid excuse, but everybody else accepts it.
In MA, it appears to be covered by the State Ethics Commission. I’m not sure if I’m interpreting this correctly, but repeated meals from a shop would at least require reporting this gift. This is from an Advisory, so I’m not sure if this has force of law, or if it applies to police officers. No matter how you slice it, it’s pretty low on the list of perceived conflicts of interest.