West Seattle police say ‘thanks’ for an act of appreciation

Received this late today from Southwest Precinct operations Lt. Pierre Davis:

A group of very humbled officers came to me earlier today and told me of an act of kindness that is indicative of the kind of people we serve here in West Seattle.

They stated that they were finishing their lunch at the Circa restaurant located at California & Admiral and needed to pay their bill but was told by the waitress that an anonymous citizen had taken care of their tab, stating that their service to the community and city was very much appreciated. The officers, after acknowledging the gesture, left the restaurant and reported what had occurred. Needless to say the officers were touched that their West Seattle Community would once again show that their officers remain cherished and in high regard. So on behalf of your West Seattle officers we would like to say “thank you” to our West Seattle Community for continuously making the extra effort to strengthen the community/police partnership.

30 Replies to "West Seattle police say 'thanks' for an act of appreciation"

  • Tony January 6, 2012 (7:52 pm)

    Thank you for serving our community.

  • JN January 6, 2012 (7:59 pm)

    I second that. While there has been some very bad press lately, my personal experience with the officers of the SPD has been overwhelmingly positive. Thank you for all the work that you do, officers.

  • CB January 6, 2012 (8:05 pm)

    I thought cops were not allowed to accept gifts like this?

    • WSB January 6, 2012 (8:16 pm)

      Page 6. http://www.seattle.gov/police/publications/policy/spd_manual.pdf … Don’t know if someone anonymously paying their tab would qualify, as you can’t be influenced to change your behavior toward someone whose identity you don’t know, but obviously they reported it to supervisors, since Lt. Davis is #2 at the precinct … TR

  • miws January 6, 2012 (8:12 pm)

    Kootch? ;-)

    .

    Mike

  • NameREQUIRED January 6, 2012 (8:16 pm)

    In this case, let’s not make a big deal about “accepting gifts” – first, it was anonymously made and second, the officers found out AFTER it was already taken care of. Now, CB, if you’re insinuating they should have paid anyway….well, that’s just not a point we should even consider or argue.

    Thanks to the officers who serve us well AND are grateful enough for the sentiment to let their leaders know and to for them to share it all back to the community. This is what will make us all stronger as a people and community. Not trying to make an irrelevant point.

  • heylady January 6, 2012 (8:26 pm)

    Fantastic!

  • Eaglelover January 6, 2012 (8:40 pm)

    The west division rocks, even though they stormed in our newly purchased house to help the previous owner who called in a complaint thought enough to come back later to explain why they rushed rushed in. While we were shocked to have them rush in they where very apologetic and explained why it happened later.

  • JoB January 6, 2012 (8:44 pm)

    this is the exact wording of the policy on accepting gratuities/meals..
    .
    “Solicit or accept any gratuities of merchandise, meals, beverages, or any other thing of value
    which might tend to influence their or any other employee’s actions in any matter of police
    business or which might reflect adversely on the Department or any of its employees”
    .
    it is found on page 192 of the nearly 700 page Pdf of the employees manual that WSB linked to…
    .
    perhaps CB can give us an explanation for why they think that accepting a meal paid for anonymously by a guest at the restaurant would influence or change their behavior or reflect badly on the department.
    .
    personally, i don’t see it.
    .
    visiting the employee handbook is instructive…
    i strongly recommend reading the code of ethics our officers sign… it’s enlightening.
    .
    a few bad apples shouldn’t blind us to all of those officers who take it to heart.
    .
    thanks to the anonymous West Seattle resident who took the time and effort to say thank you…
    you really stood up for all of us.

  • Petert January 6, 2012 (8:57 pm)

    Well, it’s not like anyone is saying ‘…hey, in exchange for the lunch, can you fix this ticket for me ?’ Look at it this way – some of us express appreciation for our mail carriers with a small gift during the holidays – what should preclude a policeman from being a recipient of a similar token of appreciation, so long as it is without the expectation of something in return ?

    Kudos to the folks who did this, and thanks to the men and women who risk putting themselves in harm’s way for us each day.

  • ws January 6, 2012 (9:15 pm)

    Great story! Love to hear good press toward the police. They are the good guys, and it’s great to hear they are getting some of the appreciation they deserve. Thank you SPD for all you do!

  • Sv January 6, 2012 (9:40 pm)

    What are we supposed to give our mail carriers? I didn’t do anything for mine this holiday and think he’s really nice. Hmmm

  • boy January 6, 2012 (10:10 pm)

    Like back in the old day, you scratch my back i’ll scratch yours. You know somtimes people get to tectnical about things. God bless our SPD.

  • Jim P. January 6, 2012 (10:14 pm)

    Always a difficult situation for anyone in an official capacity.

    In my line of work, I would have had to pay regardless of someone having picked up the tab unless they did it for the entire restaurant or something since I’d not want to spend time explaining to our version of Internal Affairs what and why. :) (I can’t even accept a cup of coffee unless it is freely available to any and all coming in and even then it is better to politely decline and buy a cup..)

    Done in the way it was done, it was a noble gesture and I am pleased the officers could accept it and not get into any hot water with their department.

  • Jim P. January 6, 2012 (10:17 pm)

    “What are we supposed to give our mail carriers?”

    Check with the Post Office, I *think* small gifts are permissible to your mail carrier.

    Ahhh, here we are….

    “The U.S. Postal Service forbids mail carriers from accepting cash, and says gifts must be under $20 in value. A gift card or a basket of fruit, nuts or chocolates ….”
    http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/tipping.html

  • AJ January 6, 2012 (10:32 pm)

    Thank you SPD. Thank you for dealing with the worst our city has to offer day in and day out. I know you’ll be there when I need it. I’ll pick up the tab next time I see you out. Thanks again.

  • brin January 6, 2012 (11:57 pm)

    WSB – Never misses a chance to suck up to SPD.

  • mookie January 7, 2012 (1:54 am)

    Gee, brin; axe-grindy much?

  • Dina January 7, 2012 (7:23 am)

    brin:
    In case you hadn’t noticed, the WS Blog is professionally courteous to EVERY resident, institution, business, and city official in West Seattle. That is why they have a good working relationaship with all, and access to local news and events of interest that the rest of us wouldn’t have a clue about unless they inform us.

  • WSLifer January 7, 2012 (7:54 am)

    Thank You to the thoughtful person/people who paid the bill, and Thank You to our officers! What a wonderful story.
    As for some of the rest of these posts, how ’bout if we stop analyzing and be grateful?!!

  • bridge to somewhere January 7, 2012 (8:27 am)

    great story!
    .
    brin: this is the same news source that published in full the video of the cop making disparaging comments about a pedestrian who was hit by a truck. not exactly “sucking up” to the SPD–just providing news. you didn’t mention that, of course, because it doesn’t fit with your silly narrative.

  • Rick January 7, 2012 (8:33 am)

    If I want to buy someone lunch, it’s my business, not yours.

  • sam-c January 7, 2012 (8:36 am)

    I saw 20 comments and assumed they were echoing the sentiments of the anonymous donor. oh well. thank you anon. lunch buyer for doing that.

    re: gifts to police… in another town and another state, I waited tables. the pub owners always told us to ‘comp’ the police officers’ lunches. it was just out of respect for them and their service to the community, not any sort of bribery. after that, I guess I always assumed police ate and drank (coffee) for free anywhere.

    we usually give our mail delivery person a $ 20 gift card to Target. seems general and useful enough.

  • metrognome January 7, 2012 (9:14 am)

    thanks to the anonymous donor for recognizing those among us who have chosen to serve and protect other citizens … a job which is often dangerous and too often thankless.

  • JoanM January 7, 2012 (9:35 am)

    How thoughtful! I appreciate the police; they responded when I called. They put their lives on the line, not something I was willing to do!

  • miws January 7, 2012 (10:20 am)

    Yep, brin! Ya know that WSB has to suck up to SPD, to avoid the rare, overtime parking tickets they might otherwise incur, on the occasions of Courtroom or City Council meeting coverage that has run long!

    .

    Mike

  • Joan Bateman January 8, 2012 (1:27 am)

    Random acts of kindness go a long way to making everyone’s life a little brighter.

    A friend of mind frequesntly will pay for someone’s dinner, or give money if someone is short.

    Her reward is an inner feeling of goodness when she sees the surprised, happy look on someones’s face.

    Pay it Forward.

  • Kayleigh January 8, 2012 (4:37 pm)

    I love this story. Thank you, Anonymous Citizen.

  • MPeterson January 8, 2012 (9:12 pm)

    The officers probably didn’t care about the $20 they saved on lunch. I’m sure they cared far more about the fact that their dedication to serving our community was recognized. I for one am going to try to do the same thing as anon did the next time I see officers grabbing a bite to eat or a coffee.

  • April January 9, 2012 (11:01 pm)

    I am grateful to the Southwest precinct for the good work they do around the clock for our community. Thank you!

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