Support blue: Residents gather to express appreciation for Clovis Police

Lifelong Clovis resident Brandi Asacker was sick of logging onto Facebook and reading posts and comments from people putting down law enforcement officers.

So she decided to do something positive to combat the negativity that has surrounded police — especially in the last couple of years. Asacker used Facebook to invite Clovis residents to show their appreciation Thursday night for the Clovis Police Department by bringing dinner, goodies and handmade cards.

“I just wanted to put something together for our police department because I feel like they’re getting a bad reputation,” Asacker said. “I wanted to put this together to say thank you and let them know we support them.”

Donations poured in from Starbucks, Clovis Donuts, Kona Ice of SW Clovis, Vons, Save Mart and Me & Ed’s Pizzeria. Best Party Rentals provided tables, chairs and linens. Children at Kids Kare Sierra Vista decorated cards and wrote notes thanking the police officers. Some residents showed up with plates full of homemade desserts.

Clovis Police Capt. Tom Roberts said that in his 17 years with the department, he’s seen a spike in the negativity that the officers deal with over the last two years.

“In Clovis we really strive to really provide the best service we can,” he said. “We know that we are representative of our community and the community truly trusts us and trusts us with the enforcement powers and relies on us for that. So it is very powerful when our community comes out and expresses that.”

About two dozen officers came out to enjoy dinner, desserts and donuts — or as one officer jokingly called them, “cop fuel” — and mingled with residents.

“I hope that more people start supporting our law enforcement,” Asacker said.

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Support blue: Residents gather to express appreciation for Clovis Police."