Cops shop with 61 kids
Murphy – The spirit of giving is in the air in Cherokee County.
An anonymous person paid off $2,000 worth of items that were on layaway at Walmart. A day or so later, another woman tried to do the same thing. However, since there were no items left to pay off at the time, the woman donated the money to law enforcement to be used as part of Shop With a Cop.
“A lot of people look at us as heartless, but when we’re dealing with kids it’s completely different,” assistant police chief Dustin Smith said.
Law enforcement officials from Cherokee and Clay counties took over Walmart on Saturday morning for Shop With a Cop. Cherokee County officials purchased toys for 61 kids using money donated and raised at various functions throughout the year. Each child was allowed to spend up to $150.
During the hour and a half that police were at Walmart, at least two other women stopped to donate money to the cause. One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she donated money because her mother recently passed away, and her father didn’t want to celebrate the holiday season this year.
Police plan to use the extra cash to purchase gifts for additional kids in need who were not able to participate in Saturday’s event.
The Murphy Police Department has hosted Shop With a Cop for at least the last 12 years. Besides sharing joy, the purpose of the event is to build relationships with kids so they learn to respect law enforcement later in life.