PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va. -- Two Tri-Cities police chiefs were met with the surprise of their career during a Sunday service at a Hopewell church.
Pastor Bryan Briggs with Destination Church said that the church has been in a teaching series called Honor Roll. During Sunday service, he decided to honor two police chiefs.
"Would you welcome the chief of police of Hopewell, Chief Afzal, would you come, would you show some honor to him," Briggs said.
What happened next left Afzal in shock.
"It's beyond comprehension to me," Afzal said.
The church gave the Hopewell Police Department a gift of over $10,000.
"That has never occurred, where a faith community has called honoring people and given that kind of donation," Afzal said.
"In a year where people want to defund them and really, more importantly, dishonor them, we wanted to show them honor through our prayers, through our words, but also to give them a gift that would show our true appreciation for them," Briggs said.
At the 11 o'clock service, the Prince George County Police Chief was met with a similar surprise when a $10,000 gift was given to his department.
"We were not expecting a $10,000 check. What are we going to do with that? I can make a promise we're going to do good things with that money," Prince George County Police Chief Keith Early said.
Briggs said that he hopes these gifts show the police departments that the work they do is appreciated in their communities.
"Hopefully, it will go a long way just to show them that there are a lot of people in the Tri-Cities that do honor them," Briggs said.
Both Chief Afzal and Chief Early said that the money will be put to good use and that they will pay it forward. The two said that it was one of the best surprises they have ever gotten.
