It’s been three weeks since officers were targeted and shot in Dallas and support for local law enforcement continues to pour in.

  • More than 3,200 cokes collected for Cokes for Cops
  • Started by retired Lakeland police officer Rosaland Lewis
  • Though she has stopped collecting, Lewis says donations keep coming

In Lakeland, retired Lakeland police officer Rosaland Lewis started the “Cokes for Cops” initiative. In less than a week, she collected more than 3,200 cokes from people in the community.

"We have a good community. We have good officers in Lakeland and at the sheriff’s office. And I thought that maybe doing something to show that the community does back them will make them feel better,” said Rosaland Lewis.

Now, she’s taking the cokes to local police departments and handing them out, hoping to put a smile on officers’ faces. Her first stop was the Lakeland Police Department. She woke up early Thursday morning for roll call. As she handed out the cokes, she hugged officers, and told one, “Good to see you too. Love you. Be careful.”
 
Meanwhile, the officers took selfies, as they guzzled down a swig of coke.
 
"It's good to know that people out there appreciate what we do,” said Sgt. Thomas Collins. “Some of the stuff going on in the news lately, I think kind of gives folks the impression that we're not appreciated and so events like these and efforts like this kind of shows us that's not true."


Rosaland Lewis also stopped by the Polk County Sheriff's Office Thursday to drop off cokes.

The “Cokes for Cops” initiative started when Lewis put a request on Facebook, asking for coke donations. The post went viral and led to thousands of cokes being dropped off at her house days later.
 
"I almost cried when the first 500 came,” recalled Lewis. “It's still coming every day and I even put a stop on my Facebook page. But people are still coming."
 
Lewis hopes “Cokes for Cops” cheers up officers. With the national focus on police brutality and attacks on police officers, she said it makes it more difficult for her friends in law enforcement to come to work every day.
 
"They feel like the community doesn't trust them and just because of the things that they see in the media. Bad things do happen. If one bad thing happens, it makes the whole career field look bad,” said Lewis. "The bad ones that go out and do stupid stuff, yea they need to be dealt with. But I just think that police officers are generally good. But this is a thankless job.”
 
Lewis also stopped by the Polk County Sheriff's Office Thursday to drop off cokes. She’ll also drop off the cokes at the other police departments around the county. She believes she has enough for Tampa police officers and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies as well.