Spreading Holiday cheer; Shop with a Cop helps over 30 children with Christmas

IDAHO FALLS — Following a parade of blue and red lights early Saturday morning heading south on Hitt Road, local law enforcement officers assisted over 30 children in buying Christmas presents for their families.

The annual Shop with a Cop event, which has been going on for over 30 years, is a way for law enforcement to help children who have been exposed to traumatic or abusive situations to create a more pleasant end to their year.

“Those connections, really mean a lot each year, when it’s those families that we know really well,” Idaho Falls Police spokeswoman Jessica Clements said. “Getting to see them in this light and help those kids out, helping them have a more positive experience around the holidays and experience with police officers.”

Clements said there were three sets of children recommended by IFPD, including a brother-and-sister pair. She said they were paired with officers who are brother and sister, which helps build connections and relationships with the police.

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Before the shopping trip, officers and the kids were paired up at the Eagles Lodge, where breakfast was served. This allowed the officers to get to know the kids before heading to Target.

EastIdahoNews.com spoke with Mandy MacKay, a volunteer who was preparing the pancake batter, who said this was her ninth year doing this event.

Understanding what the event means for the kids, she looks forward to this day every year, despite having to be at the lodge at 5 a.m. to start prepping breakfast.

“These kids deserve it,” MacKay said. “It’s an amazing thing that they do for our community.”

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Another volunteer, Rourke McCusker, said he’s been helping with the event for about six years.

“Knowing that the children who are chosen have had a negative experience either with law enforcement or through a situation where police were present, this event is a way for the community to come together and help these children,” McCusker said. “Seeing little kids who need to have a connection with the police, it’s so nice to be able to help the community like this.”

After breakfast, the children were taken to the patrol cars and shown around inside the vehicles. Many of the kids began messing with the sirens and radios in each vehicle.

Clements said that during one of the quiet parts of the ride, she started a Christmas song, and the kids began singing along.

At Target, EastIdahoNews.com spoke with officers and deputies, along with the children they were paired up with.

A deputy with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Benji Garcia, and Alani Nunez were shopping. Nunez said she’s happy to get presents for her family.

Each pair was given $250 to spend on Christmas presents for their families and a gift for themselves.

This was Garcia’s second time participating in Shop with a Cop. He said this is a way for law enforcement to give back to the community.

“It’s a good day. You get to see kids light up, so it’s pretty awesome,” Garcia said.

A sergeant with the IFPD, Jason Hendrian, was helping Declan Ure with his holiday shopping, and it was his sixth time participating in the event.

Ure said it’s a bit hard to find gifts as many members of his family are moving out, but he has a good idea of possible gifts.

“We figured out what to make it fair and each (family member) got an amount… we’re going to spend as close as we can to every penny of it, so everybody has a big smile,” Hendrian said.

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