Police Officer Protects Pizza, Then Serves It

METRO DETROIT, MI — Police are charged with serving and protecting, and on Monday, what a Downriver police officer was protecting and serving was pizza.

And Carl Babik, who had ordered the double pepperoni and cheese pie, was more than a little surprised to see a uniformed police officer with a gun in his belt and a pizza in his hands ringing his doorbell.

Lincoln Park Police Cpl. Joe Sparks is shrugging off the attention, according to media reports, including WDIV-TV. He says he was just doing his job.

“I grew up in the city, so I try to give back when I can,” he told The Detroit News.

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Sparks stepped into the fill-in pizza delivery role after he had been called out to investigate an accident at Dix and Cicotte that banged up a Jet’s Pizza driver and sent him to the hospital.

“I know someone on the other end was waiting for their food,” Sparks told The Detroit News Tuesday night. “I just figured it was the right thing to do.”

Sparks was right.

Babik had already called Jet’s Pizza to inquire about what happened to his pie. And then Sparks showed up at his door.

“I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, this is weird. Why is a cop delivering my food’?” Babik told WDIV.

Babik tried to pay Sparks, but the police officer said he was still on his shift, so Babik should go to Jet’s Pizza to settle up.

Jet’s, a favorite pizza delivery option among Lincoln Park police officers, is showing its gratitude for Sparks’ extraordinary customer service by throwing a pizza party for the police department.

Image credit: Brendan C via Flickr / Creative Commons