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WEST JORDAN — About 100 kids darted through the aisles Saturday and police officers followed right behind them.
Thing is, the cops were part of the fun, helping the children shop for Christmas presents for the kids' families and friends, as well as for themselves, though that part sometimes took a little urging.
"They show up with a list that has their clothing and shoe sizes on it and they just want to buy things for everybody else," said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Robin Heiden. "It's an amazing experience. These are good kids."
As her gifts were being wrapped in a corner of the Kmart in West Jordan, Velissa Vigil shooed her mom away so she wouldn't see what the 4-year-old had so carefully picked out.
"I'm trying to hold back tears," Hollie McCleery, Velissa's mom, said. "It feels good. I've tried to raise them to be grateful for everything they get."
McCleery, a single mom who works and goes to school full-time, said she was struggling to come up with enough to afford Christmas presents this year.
"I didn't know how we were going to do it," she said.
The kids, referred by resource officers from a handful of elementary schools in Salt Lake County, met up with the officers early Saturday, had breakfast and were each given $150 to spend on gifts. At the store they met with Santa and Mrs. Claus, who were delivered to the store via police helicopter. The kids were also given a backpack full of school supplies and a warm blanket, all of which is donated to the Shop with a Cop program by its generous sponsors.
"We like to include kids who come from families that might need more positive interaction with law enforcement," said Darren Orr, executive director of Shop with a Cop Utah. "We want to bridge the gap and change this generation of kids, helping them realize that the officers are the good guys."
Orr recently encountered a young woman who had shopped with cops as a kid. "She said she still remembered that experience," he said.
We like to include kids who come from families that might need more positive interaction with law enforcement. We want to bridge the gap and change this generation of kids, helping them realize that the officers are the good guys.
–Darren Orr, Shop with a Cop Utah.
Volunteers helped wrap the gifts before they were loaded into carts and later delivered under Christmas trees across the valley to be opened Christmas Day.
"It's different to see their perspective of shopping. They're so selfless," said Keisha Smithson, of Magna. She accompanied her husband, Ryan Smithson, an officer with the Utah Transit Authority, to the event and helped Velissa and her brother Riley McCleery do their shopping.
"It makes me think we need to re-think how we do things with our own kids," she said. "It's definitely humbling."
Salt Lake police detective Dennis McGowan said he loves helping the community in a different way than officers usually do. Families are given a stamped receipt in case they need to return anything kids purchase with the program.
"I always let them go a little bit over $150," he said, adding that $150 can be spent pretty quickly once they get to the toy department.
"They all want toys," McGowan said. "And toys aren't usually discounted. But the clothes and shoes are, so that helps."
Seven-year-old Karla Arriero could hardly contain her excitement as she perused the aisles of toys with McGowan. She picked out a bunch of essentials — slippers, pajamas and socks and underwear — and then had a hard time deciding on what else to get. She ended up with a Monopoly game and some other toys, and clapped her hands together as they were wrapped. The smile on her face stretched from ear to ear.
"What officers do in our community is so much more than protect and serve," Orr said. "They love to be involved."
This year was the 24th year local law enforcement has been operating the Shop with a Cop event. Similar events are held statewide, though they are not coordinated. Summit and Davis counties also helped kids in their communities on Saturday.
More information can be found online, at www.shopwithacoputah.com.
