By Katie Nelson
San Jose Mercury News
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Jack Hentzel, 9, cast a wary glance at his nearly empty lemonade pitcher. His ice, floating listlessly in a glass bowl on a table, was melting. His cousin, 7-year-old Joseph Navarro, was ready to retire for the day.
But with three thirsty Palo Alto police officers enjoying a cool cup of pink lemonade and with a laptop to save up for, Jack said he could stay out at his stand a little longer.
“My parents want me to earn it, and I want a Dell,” he said. “I’m hoping the money helps me.”
Jack’s burgeoning business was not the first lemonade stand Palo Alto police officers visited recently, nor will it be the last. The social media savvy department smack dab in the middle of Silicon Valley created a now-trending hashtag on Twitter to put with each photo they take at each lemonade stand they visit — CopsLoveLemonadeStands.
The social media campaign was the brainchild of Palo Alto police Sgt. Ben Becchetti and Officer Dave Pecoraro, and their support for youthful entrepreneurs is being adopted by a growing number of police departments across the country. In their own city, their outreach on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites has led to dozens of residents clamoring for a visit from police officers at their children’s lemonade stands. The first post was put on the department’s Nextdoor page on June 1, and it soon became the department’s most popular post in more than two years, according to Lt. Zach Perron, spokesman for the department. In the first week after the post went up, police received at least 20 requests for visits.
“I have always said, ‘Never pass up a lemonade stand,’” said Becchetti. “It’s my favorite thing. It only takes a minute or two, and I always have a dollar on me.”
Becchetti said the option for the community to reach out to the department to have officers visit the stands — either by posting on the department’s Facebook page or on the department’s Nextdoor page — is a great way to meet residents. It is also a fun way for kids to meet the police, Becchetti added.
And the hashtag has not only been popular in Palo Alto. It has erupted all over Twitter. The hashtag was created before a June 11 incident in Overton, Texas, where a police officer shut down two girls’ lemonade stand because they didn’t have a permit. Now departments near and far — from Campbell to Truckee to departments in Nebraska, North Carolina and Massachusetts — have taken up using the hashtag to boost community engagement and good will rather than focusing on technicalities with vendor licensing.
“CopsLoveLemonadeStands isn’t just about humanizing our officers and giving kids the opportunity to say hi (and sell some lemonade), it is also a lot of fun for our officers and gives them the opportunity to build relationships with one of our most important assets — the (kids) of our community,” said Campbell police Capt. Gary Berg.
As the hashtag and the purpose behind it grow in popularity, Palo Alto police will continue to visit every lemonade stand on every shift that they can.
Last week, Becchetti and his swing-shift team visited a snow cone stand, spearheaded by Anna Mickelsen, 12, and her 9-year-old brother, Sawyer.
With music blasting and a line several children and teenagers deep, the officers politely waited to have their orders taken.
As Anna worked to make sure she got everyone’s orders right, she looked up briefly and smiled.
“I’m good,” she said.
The police, snow cones in hand, couldn’t have agreed more.
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