‘Donut Boy’ serves up some sweet treats for Orlando police

A pint-size, caped figure strides through Orlando Police Department headquarters, temporarily rescuing cops from boredom and hunger. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … Donut Boy?

Nine-year-old Tyler Carach dropped by the station Wednesday morning, delivering 240 doughnuts and coffee to men and women in blue. Donut Boy has a mission: thanking every cop in America with a sweet treat.

“I wanted to thank them because they’re my friends,” Tyler said. “[I want] to remind them that people still care.”

Tyler, from Bratt, has gained national attention for his campaign, appearing on The Steve Harvey Show and speaking at National Police Week. His slogan — “I donut need a reason to thank a cop” — is emblazoned in sparkly lettering on his multicolored, superhero-like cape.

It all started in August 2016, when Tyler used his own money to buy doughnuts for officers he saw in a corner store. Today, his family runs crowdfunding campaigns, asks doughnut shops for discounted pastries and accepts support from bootmaker ALTAI to help cover costs.

“It’s fantastic. It’s something that really means a lot to us,” said Sgt. Eduardo Bernal, an Orlando police public information officer.

On Monday, Tyler, his mom and his 13-year-old siblings, Naudia and Zach, kicked off a sixweek trip from South Florida to New Hampshire. During the campaign, they will hold 30 events and deliver more than 10,000 doughnuts to law enforcement officers.

“We’ve always been a very back-the-blue type of family, very supportive of law enforcement,” his mother, Sheena Carach said. “It’s just turned into this amazing, amazing journey.”

Tyler, who gave cops bunny ears in pictures and clambered aboard a department motorcycle, hopes to become a K-9 officer. Appropriately, his favorite kind of doughnut is heart-shaped with cherry or strawberry filling.

So how many pastries has he munched during the trip?

Only about two, Tyler said: “I don’t eat sugar much.”