‘Donut Boy’ brings passion, pastries to Butler County police officers

Tyler Carach knows how to put the icing on the end of the week.

The 10-year-old boy from Florida — with donations from 12 bakeries on the Butler County Donut Trail — delivered 24 dozen varieties of doughnuts to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office on Friday afternoon as part of his quest to thank every police officer in America.

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Officers throughout the county walked around the large table choosing their favorite doughnut, posing for pictures with Tyler, and presenting him commemorative tokens from their police agencies.

In August 2016, Tyler, then 8, began his mission by buying doughnuts for four sheriff deputies he saw in a local store. He asked his mother, Sheena Carach, if he could buy them doughnuts with his allowance.

“They were tickled to death about him saying thanks to them,” Carach said about the deputies’ reactions. “When we left he said, ‘Mom, why are the officers happy about a snack?’ I said, ‘Honey it wasn’t the snack they were happy about. It’s just that you took the time to appreciate them.’”

Fairfield Police Chief Steve Maynard said gestures like Tyler’s “make an impact on our profession.”

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Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said officers don’t get a chance to smile enough in their line of work. But there were plenty of smiles — and calories consumed — during Tyler’s visit Friday to Butler County.

“It sends a message that police are liked more than people think some times,” Jones said.

After leaving Butler County, Tyler and his mother were headed to West Virginia, then Indianapolis and Cincinnati to end a two-week road trip. They have traveled to 27 states and given out more than 60,000 doughnuts.

Carach said they drive to most of their road trips, though they flew to National Police Week in Washington, D.C., and will fly to Alaska later this summer. The trips are sponsored by family and friends and the thousands of followers on Tyler’s social media accounts.

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Tyler, a fifth-grader, was a big hit as he passed out doughnuts while wearing his “I Donut Need A Reason To Thank A Cop” cape.

“They risk their lives everyday for total strangers,” Tyler said. “I want to thank them.”

He was asked about his classmates back in Bratt, Fla., and what they think of his pastry passion: “They know me as myself. Not the ‘Donut Boy.’”

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