The connection between cops and donuts goes back as far as most of us can remember, but where does the stereotype come from? According to Atlas Obscura, the concept dates back to the mid-20th century when police officers would stop at donut shops during graveyard shifts, as they were the only places open late at night.
The connection persisted, and now, cops and donuts are like the moon and stars — it’s hard to think of one without the other coming to mind. While some people may make jabs at law enforcement with some donut quips, one kind little girl had an experience with police and donuts of her own and decided to do some good for her community’s officers.
One day in 2017, a 9-year-old girl named Brooke was at a gas station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to buy a dozen donut holes, but she didn’t have enough cash. Luckily for her, a state trooper was behind her in line and offered to pay for her tasty sweet treat. Brooke was nervous but elated by the officer’s kindness, and she ran out with the donuts as soon as the cashier handed them to her.
You may think that the story ends there, and we’re sure the state trooper thought the same thing, but Brooke had other plans. When the little girl reached home, she rushed to find a piece of paper and an envelope. She penned a touching thank-you note to the officer who had paid for her food and enclosed a $10 bill to repay him.
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In her letter, Brooke wrote:
“A nice police officer behind me kindly paid for my item. I thanked him but felt bad because I didn’t offer him the money I had. So, I am donating this money. I want to thank this officer again.”
When Brooke’s letter reached the station, word got around, and the squad decided to do something special for the sweet girl. They each pitched in and bought a $50 gift card to a toy store to thank her for being so kind.
But being the generous kid that she is, Brooke didn’t just take the gift card and use it on herself. She demonstrated more inspiring generosity by using her gift card to buy toys for less fortunate boys and girls. She donated all of her purchases that day to Toys For Tots.
After the police found this out, they knew they really had to go all out to honor Brooke. The little girl and her family were invited for a private tour of the police station, where she was showered with gifts, praise and, of course, plenty of donuts. This time, the police made her promise that she wouldn’t give away all of the presents and gift cards and keep some of them for herself.
Regarding her selfless acts, a reporter jokingly asked the little girl, “What’s wrong with you?” to which Brooke responded with a laugh and said, “nothing.” And we couldn’t agree more.
What an inspiring story from a 9-year-old. Let Brooke inspire you to act more selflessly in the world and be more considerate of others too.
Brooke’s story has certainly seemed to inspire apost.com readers, some of whom left comments thanking the girl and the officers for their kindness.
“Hats off to Brooke! She was raised right. God bless you and your family. Keep up the great work!” Laraine Haluszka Romano George commented on Facebook.
“What a great act of kindness of Brooke and the officer! Thanks to both of them. Bless both of you!” Peggy Bryant Turner added.
This isn’t the first time that an officer has made someone’s day outside of working hours.
In 2020, an officer pulled Niya Sumter over in Atlanta County, Mississippi. What she didn’t know was that the officer who pulled her over had a generous heart like the Pittsburgh officers in Brooke’s story. When Officer Bradley Sanders saw Sumter’s son in the wrong size car seat, he asked her to follow him, taking Sumter to Walmart so he could buy her the correct size.
According to WAPT News, the mother shared the story on Facebook, writing, “Can I say how good God is? … After giving me my tickets, he said, ‘Follow me. Let’s go buy your baby a car seat.’”
There seemed to be no ill will between the officer and the mother.
Sanders explained, “She was very grateful. She was saying, ‘Thank you,’ and she understood that the traffic stop was legitimate. She had no issue with what was going on.”
“Overwhelmingly, there are great cops out there. Are there a few bad apples out there? I am sure. But most of us got into this profession to help people, as I did myself. I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. I wanted to help,” Sanders added.