Gas patrons fill up on Sarasota Police's giving spirit

Sarasota Police handed out some holiday-season good cheer — and free gasoline — at three stores around the city on Giving Tuesday.

Funded by $1,000 each from the Sarasota Police Foundation and Crime Stoppers of Sarasota County, the officers from the Community Relations Unit relied on a little misdirection to find their recipients.

Officers, and Chief Rex Troche, first asked patrons if they would pose for a photo with police personnel. Once they agreed, officers indeed snapped a photo and filled up the patrons’ gas tanks as well.

Image courtesy of Sarasota Police Department

“One of our core values for the Sarasota Police Department is service,” Troche said. “It’s an opportunity for us to give back to our community, especially on this Giving Tuesday. This is an opportunity for officers to interact with people in a one-on-one setting, and it really shows what police officers are all about. Officers are about service, professionalism and dedication, so this builds our relationships with our community even more.”

Officers visited Wawa at 2257 Fruitville Road; Speedway at 600 N. Washington Blvd. and Circle K at 1801 S. Tamiami Trail.

“A lot of people are very humble and they are very thankful, but we don’t know what people are going through,” said Officer Whitney Bentz. “If we can just give them a little bit of gas to get drivers through the day, that’s the least we can do.”