The Sheriff’s Office of Nash County, North Carolina is marking Valentine’s Day with a very special offer – turn in your ex-boyfriend if he has an outstanding warrant. The sheriff will provide special holiday perks, free of charge.

The Facebook page of the Nash County Sheriff’s Office posted a light-hearted notice for anyone interested in turning in an ex-boyfriend (or girlfriend). Feeling scorned? Turn in an ex-Valentine with an outstanding warrant and the sheriff’s office in Nashville will take it from there.

Did you know?
The Nash County Sheriff’s Office is now offering a Valentine’s Day Weekend Special!
Do you have an ex-Valentine and know they have outstanding warrants? Give us a call (252) 459-4121 with their location and we’ll take care of the rest.
This Valentine’s Day Weekend Special starts off with a set of limited-edition platinum bracelets, free transportation with a chauffeur, a one-night minimum stay in our luxurious ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ accommodations, and this special is capped off with a special Valentine’s dinner.
We know this special is so incredible that you may be tempted to provide additional referrals. We don’t blame you, this special is too sweet to pass up. Operators are standing by!

It’s cute, right? If someone takes them up on it – Operators are standing by! – it’s a good thing. If everyone takes it in the manner in which it was intended, to give people a chuckle, that’s good, too. It’s a win/win. We can all use some smiles these days. This was a clever way to reach out to the county’s residents. The Facebook post garnered hundreds of responses, mostly complimentary. Some commenters weren’t amused, though.

Hundreds of people were tickled by the payback gag, posting comments like: “Not only does our county police force provide us with great service, they also keep us entertained. Thank you, NCSO!,” and “Did you mention a new outfit too.”

Some commenters found the joke to be in poor taste, with one person commenting: “Who came up with this crap? Talk about tone death? Not surprised tho.”

Law enforcement agencies in other cities sent out the same message. The Fort Walton Beach Police Department offered the same special for Valentine’s Day. The police department credits the Somerset Police Department in Somerset, Massachusetts for the idea.

This kind of thing has backfired in the past, though. Take, for instance, when this kind of offer was made by the Topeka Police Department for Father’s Day in 2019.

“Does your child’s father have warrants? Is he carrying around any drugs? Has he been committing any crimes? Want to give him a Father’s Day he’ll never forget? Call TPD and we’ll help your family make a memory that will last a lifetime,” the Topeka Police Department said in the since-deleted tweet.

The department sent their offer via tweet and then it had to be deleted.

“The tweet was meant to be humorous and light-hearted, but was hurtful to some. After realizing this, the tweet was quickly deleted,” the department said in the statement.

Apology regarding tweet: pic.twitter.com/him4coGASp

— Topeka Police Department (@Topeka_Police) June 17, 2019

The Topeka Police Department should have known better than to bring kids into the equation. Deadbeat dads are bad but acknowledging them with a joke tweet for Father’s Day wasn’t going to end well. That was a “learning experience” the department shouldn’t have had to learn. A Valentine’s Day acknowledgment of failed relationships between two adults on Facebook is a different audience. I’ll take the chuckle with the North Carolina sheriff any day.