A case of 'Cops & Lobsters'

Your waiter is wearing a badge and a gun?

No, the Red Lobster is not being raided. The officers are serving tables to earn tips for the Special Olympics.

It was the annual “Cops & Lobsters” charitable event held at Silverdale’s Red Lobster on N.W. Randall Way.

Members of the Bainbridge Island Police Department, Bremerton Police Department, Kitsap County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Port Orchard Police Department and the Poulsbo Police Department participated.

On Friday, July 18, each officer was paired with a waiter at the restaurant. The skilled waiters took orders from customers, and the officers delivered the food. Tips went to the Kitsap Special Olympics and Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Cops & Lobsters is a fund-raising event organized by Red Lobster restaurants and local law enforcement agencies, and the Special Olympics, all over the United States. In 2002, Cops and Lobsters raised $1.2 million in tips for Special Olympics. Last year, the Silverdale Red Lobster contributed $4,000.

This year, officers and deputies performed their duties during both the lunch time and dinner “rush hours,” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. The volunteer ‘waitering’ performed by the deputies and officers occurs during their off-duty hours.

Officer and deputies from agencies in Kitsap County have joined together to form Team KOSSO (Kitsap Officers Supporting Special Olympics).

Other events hosted by Team KOSSO include courthouse barbecues; workplace dress-down days; car washes, merchandise sales and more. The team’s initial effort kicked-off May 30 when the Sheriff’s Office Deputy Dawgs Blowtorch Team carried the Special Olympics torch, the Flame of Hope, throughout CK during a running relay, ending up in Port Orchard after the torch was carried by kayak across Sinclair Inlet.

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