There is a stigma that police have incurred over the years. It has to do with “cops and doughnuts.” The two seem to go together like salt and pepper or dog and hydrant. Let me just clear this up right now. COPS DON’T EAT DOUGHNUTS! Well, maybe they used to.

This stems from the 60’s and 70’s before our 24-hour society. Doughnut shops were the only business open for night shift working officers. It was a warm place to sit and write a report, or get a cup of coffee. Several officers might stop in throughout the night, giving officers a stereotype. Here we are, 45 years later, and the stigma still remains. I once saw a bumper sticker that read, “Bad cop, no doughnut.” Funny.

Let us look at the origin of the doughnut. The doughy fritters originated in 16th century Holland. They were so greasy that the Dutch referred to them as “oily cakes.” They eventually made their way over here to America where we put a hole in the middle of them and fed them to the Army troops who then dubbed them “doughboys.” Per capita, Canada has the largest amount of doughnut shops in the world. Why is it that you never see a Mountie trotting around with a doughnut?

Most of the officers I work with and know are in good shape. Police Chief Rick Braziel is a great example. He recently qualified for the Boston Marathon, and is one of the best athletes I know with a body fat percentage of about 10. No doughnuts there. We have a number of athletes on this department from endurance runners to triathletes. No doughnuts there either.

I do run across doughnuts when there is a community event or an occasional officer training class where they are being offered in the morning. Someone with good intentions remembered the stigma and thought it would be a nice gesture.

I took an internal poll and asked two dozen officers if they eat doughnuts. One asked, “Does a bagel count?” No, bagels don’t count. Same shape but different kind of carbohydrate. All in all, there were only four who admitted to partaking in having a doughnut from time to time, but never made it a habit.

Someone asked me the other day if I was disappointed that “Krispy Kreme” closed shop in Sacramento. It’s all the same to me. A doughnut is a doughnut, and there are no good doughnuts.

So, you heard it here. Cops don’t really do doughnuts anymore. Most officers would be embarrassed to even park in front of a doughnut shop. Besides, most cops nowdays are health nuts and opt for smoothies and wheatgrass.