Officer Cody Wolf’s police car filled with the fresh warm smell of six pepperoni and six cheese pizzas from Gambino’s as 5 o’clock rolled by. 

He knew people were on the hunt last week and craving his pizza. 

This was the second time Wolf was loading toasty cardboard boxes in his backseat for “Pizza on Patrol.” The last time his patrol car smelled like this was last November. 

About two years ago, Police Chief Wes Lovett was brainstorming for community engagement activities when Wolf joined the force. 

“I do our department’s social media so they basically gave me the challenge of coming up with something and implementing it. It was his idea, and this is where we’re at today,” Wolf said. “Getting back to the ground roots of policing and getting back involved with the community. Getting to know the community that you’re supporting and serving and protecting.” 

Pulling into the first stop of his patrol, he pulled out his phone and posted a clue of his whereabouts to the department’s Facebook page. The lucky code crackers would be rewarded with their pick of a pizza.  

An orange brick building stood in the background of the uploaded picture. The entrance of the building and its sign were concealed behind Wolf’s vehicle. 

“Our first clue for Pizza on Patrol!! Can you guess where we are?” he captioned the image. 

“The Rec Center’s a very unique building in the city. With that in the background, kind of making it obvious but giving somebody something to guess on as well,” Wolf said as he finalized the post. 

Within 10 minutes, a trail of vehicles followed as families parked in the Community Center parking lot. Brianna Campbell and her sons Huxton and Cohen were one of the first code crackers to grab a pizza box from Wolf. 

“The green (roof),” Campbell said, was what gave away the location. “We go there all the time.” 

The Ratliff family and their two children were right behind the Campbells on their pizza quest. 

“We’ve been waiting a good 45 minutes, just driving around waiting for a post,” Jamie Ratliff said.

After just one clue, only two pizza boxes remained in the officer’s backseat. 

“We’ll definitely have to get some more pizzas next time,” Wolf said as he drove to his next, and last, stop. “Frisbee golf is probably the best clue for the next location we’re going to. It’s the only place in town where you can play Frisbee golf at.” 

Wolf did not include the disc golf baskets in his picture of Bluejacket Park but was quickly found again. With a successfully empty back seat, Wolf drove back to the department.

“We’ll definitely be doing this again,” he said. “We’ll be grabbing more pizzas next time.” 

Reach The Eudora Times at [email protected].