The Grapevine Police Department (GPD) is receiving criticism for rejecting a gift from local cell phone company Patriot Mobile.
The donation, a $1,500 gift card to the pizza restaurant Cane Rosso, was rejected by GPD despite being accepted at first.
The Grapevine-based cell phone company shared on Twitter last Thursday:
“Patriot Mobile was blessed to visit @grapevinepolice to give the team a pizza party gift card to CANE ROSSO! We’re so grateful for the work our law enforcement does every day to keep us safe in the community.”
Initially, GPD posted about the gift, saying, “Sincere thanks to our friends at Patriot Mobile. We are blessed to have their support and encouragement. … We are grateful for the opportunity to have a fun and relaxing meal together as a team.”
However, GPD later deleted the original post and shared a statement apologizing for accepting the donation from Patriot Mobile.
The department wrote on Facebook:
“This week, we accepted a food donation from a local business, as we often do, and posted a thank you on social media … We do not question a donor’s beliefs; we simply express our gratitude. In this case, however, the donation brought out deep emotion.
“One of our values, Dignity, ensures that we recognize the inherent worth of all persons and compels us to act toward them within a manner that conveys our understanding of that truth. It is about being respectful to ALL … Please know that our actions were not intended to create distrust, and we vow to do better moving forward.”
GPD stated further, “We are going to re-evaluate how we receive donations in the future, and we will remain open, and transparent, in how we do so.”
The statement claimed that the gift would be donated “to a true need.”
“We want something positive to come from this experience and that means giving to a worthy cause,” GPD stated.
“We are not merely giving you words today — we are working to make a lasting change in how we operate so we can move forward together,” the post concluded. “We recognize that we are one member of a great Community.”
In a statement responding to the rejection, Patriot Mobile asked GPD to forward the gift card to another police department if it was going to refuse it, claiming that “the sentiment expressed in the woke PR statement is not shared by all officers in the Grapevine Police Department.”
“The response from the far left is not surprising to us, nor is it anything new,” Patriot Mobile CEO Glenn Story added. “We are humbled to serve as a Christian conservative company. Our mission is to defend our God-given Constitutional rights … We love our country and we love the Lord.”
The statement further noted, “Patriot Mobile will continue to value and show appreciation for our first responder heroes. For too long, our police have been vilified … We encourage others around the country to join us in supporting local police departments as they risk their lives.”
Patriot Mobile, which describes itself as “America’s only Christian conservative wireless service provider,” donates a portion of its proceeds to various causes, including “organizations that fight for First Amendment Religious Freedom and Freedom of Speech, Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms, Sanctity of Life and the needs of Veterans and First Responders.”
When asked for further explanation as to why GPD rejected the gift card, GPD’s media manager failed to respond to inquiries from The Dallas Express by press time.
Representatives from Patriot Mobile told The Dallas Express that GPD has also so far refused to engage in more discussions with the company.