Douglas County Sheriff’s Tip-A-Cop raises more than $4,000 for Special Olympics

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Special Olympics Colorado athletes turned the Chili’s at County Line and University in Highlands Ranch into one of the state’s strongest Tip-A-Cop stops, raising more than $4,000 over the weekend. The sheriff’s office said the total ranked second in Colorado and thanked the Douglas County community for its support in a post on dougcosheriff.

In that post, the office wrote, “A huge THANK YOU to the incredible Douglas County community for your amazing support of Tip-A-Cop and Special Olympics Colorado! Because of your generosity, Douglas County raised more than $4,000 at Chili's over the weekend.” Another promotional post invited diners to stop by the restaurant from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and said all tips raised would go directly to Special Olympics Colorado.

The event paired law enforcement and Special Olympics athletes as guest waiters, a format the organization says is central to Tip A Cop. Special Olympics Colorado describes the program as a restaurant-based fundraiser where officers bond with athletes while visiting each dining guest, explaining the mission of Law Enforcement Torch Run, or LETR, and asking for donations.

Special Olympics Colorado says Tip A Cop helps support its free sports, health and leadership programs. The organization’s Chili’s Tip-A-Cop fundraising page says the effort benefits more than 23,000 athletes across Colorado, underscoring how a single restaurant event in Highlands Ranch fed into a broader statewide program.

For Douglas County, the result put a local fundraiser near the top of the Colorado leaderboard and showed how deputies, athletes and diners all played a part in the same effort. The sheriff’s office framed the turnout as a community win, with the Chili’s event channeling dinner rush support into direct funding for Special Olympics Colorado.