Police protect and serve doughnuts

CLARE, Mich. (AP) - Local police aren't just protecting citizens, they're also serving them -- baked goods, that is.

The Clare Police Department's nine full-time employees recently purchased a local bakery, The Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant reported. The newly renamed "Cops & Doughnuts" store debuted Wednesday.

"We've been swamped," said John Pedjac, administrative assistant for police Chief Dwayne Miedzianowski. "Business has been great."

The store offers doughnuts, cookies, muffins, brownies, bread, fruit turnovers and other baked goods. Merchandise includes mugs and T-shirts bearing the "Cops & Doughtnuts, 100 Percent Cop-Owned" logo, and phrases including "You Have the Right to Remain Glazed" and "Handcuffs and Cream Puffs."

Officer Al White said the officers were concerned when the Clare City Bakery's owners decided to throw in the towel. The 113-year-old bakery would have become the sixth empty storefront in Clare's three-block downtown.

"When you are a police officer, you're obviously concerned about the people in the community and the community itself," White said.

The officers were on hand for the bakery's grand reopening but have hired a manager and will employ local students as staff.

Michigan State Police Trooper Tim Cruttenden stopped at the store Wednesday with his children for a bite to eat. Cruttenden left with a box of doughnuts to take to his post in Mount Pleasant.

"They're yummy," Cruttenden said.

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Information from: Morning Sun