Police everywhere are sworn "to protect and to serve." At Pee Wee Muldoon's Friday, the emphasis was on the latter.

It was all part of the annual ramp-up to the Special Olympics, an event known as Tip A Cop, wherein Brentwood's finest team up with the department's Community Services officers, Special Olympic athletes and Pee Wee's regular wait staff to greet guests, deliver meals and clear tables in exchange for tips. Money collected goes to the Special Olympics, which will be held in June in Berkeley this year.

Clearly, the cops were in it for the kids, not the publicity.

Photos by Rick Lemyre

Officer Tony Oerlemans of the Brentwood PD, below, center, explains the finer points of Pee Wee Muldoon's cuisine to a patron.

"Don't take my picture," Officer Tony Oerlemans, a regular participant in many Brentwood Police Department events supporting the community, told a Press photographer. "Nobody wants to see a picture of me in the paper." (See picture of officer Oerlemans accompanying this article.)

From delivering pats of butter to fetching glasses of water to chatting with children wide-eyed at the chance to see and speak to a uniformed officer up close, the crew in blue went about their business with grins on their faces that showed it was at least as much pleasure as duty that compelled them to participate.

If you missed the chance to be served a steak instead of a summons by the Brentwood PD, you'll get another chance in May at Nines Restaurant. Pack the place and put 'em to the test … they're up to it.

To make a donation or learn more about the Brentwood Police Department's activities supporting the Special Olympics, call 634-6911.