OKCPD and kids participate in annual Shop With A Cop event

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - More than two dozen kids got to go on a shopping spree Friday morning with Oklahoma City police officers. It was all for their annual Shop With A Cop event to help find Christmas gifts for them and their families.

It was a warm welcome into a shopping wonderland for about 30 kids. Oklahoma City police officers walked alongside them stocking up some shopping carts at a southwest Oklahoma City Academy Sports and Outdoors.

"This year, we were able to add five additional kids,” Capt. Michelle Henderson with the Oklahoma City Police Department said.

The kids in the event are involved in their outreach program known as the Police Athletic League.

"We interact with fifth and sixth graders with sports and after school mentoring, chess club, all kinds of things,” Henderson said. “If a kid has an interest. We create a program for it."

Each of them are gifted $300 and sent to look around Academy searching for the perfect gifts, with some guidance of course. Usually they shop for more than just themselves.

"Most kids buy things for their family before they start for themselves,” Henderson said.

Often times if they go over the limit, officers help out of their own pockets. The event has been going strong for about 20 years now and each time it’s with kids from different outreach programs. However, it always ends with full carts and full hearts.

"Not all of our job is rainbows and unicorns all day, every day,” Henderson said. "But this is the super, super pinnacle of why we do what we do."