A free meal for a police officer at a restaurant she patrols is: a. a gift.

b. a gratuity.

c. graft.

d. a shakedown.

Police officers ought to be wary about receiving free meals due some agencies forbid to accept "gratuities".

And some others forbid officers to solicit them, but these policies vary depending on each agency and the circumstances.

Non-gratuity policies are meant to eliminate corruption and graft, but sometimes citizens simply want to be nice and offer a treat to law enforcement agents. Thereby (b.)