San Angelo Police Given Thanks with Delicious BBQ

SAN ANGELO, TX-- The San Angelo Police Department got a welcomed treat at police headquarters on Thursday.

The cooking team called South 277 BBQ provided members of SAPD with lunch as a token of their appreciation during National Police Week.

"We just want to say thank you to everybody, all the police officers for what they do and putting their lives on the line," said Rib Cooker Shane Bearden. "We talked about this last night. It's not about us. It's something we wanted to do for our officers. We can't thank them enough."

Members of SAPD were given full plates of barbecue, which South 277 BBQ worked through the night to produce.

The event was another opportunity during National Police Week for the already strong relationship between SAPD and the San Angelo community to grow even stronger.

"Every day [during National Police Week] we've had an event and, aside from seeing the normal faces that we see at Police Memorial Week events, more and more we're seeing citizens come out to these events," said SAPD Public Information Officer Tracy Gonzalez. "They feel the need to show their support."

Officer Gonzalez admits the relationships between officers and the citizens they serve plays a big part into the community support of local law enforcement.

"We don't have a lot of the same issues that other areas of the country experience with their law enforcement," Officer Gonzalez said. "So our citizens are stepping up more and more and saying, 'We're here for you' and 'We pray for you on a daily basis.' For law enforcement in this community, that is almost like a refueling of our desire to serve and protect. When we know we have a community that believes in us and supports us, it makes us want to get out there and work even harder for them."

National Police Week has included the Flag Raising, which kicked off the week, Coffee With a Cop and the Run With a Cop 5K race. National Police Week continues through Saturday, May 19.