Shop-With-A-Cop

More than 40 law enforcement officers and rescue personnel from across the Augusta area gathered the Friday before Christmas for the annual Shop-with-a-cop program at Wal-Mart on Bobby Jones Expressway.

The national program pairs area officers with underprivileged children, to not only brighten the children’s holidays, but to build relations between youth and the police. Locally, 25 youth, some from the Department of Family and Youth Services, participated in the program.

One of the mothers, whose daughter was shopping with a cop, thought it was a great program.
“I think it’s wonderful, this is the first time I’ve heard of it,” said Barbara Burdette of Grovetown. “It’s helping my family tremendously. These are probably the only presents she’s going to get,” she said, as her daughter forged ahead with her shopping.

“It’s a great program; I like it,” said Jasper Cooke, chief of public safety at Augusta State University, one of the many local law enforcement agencies that participated in the program this year. “It gives kids the ability to get items for the holidays that they wouldn’t normally be able to get.”

Program organizers also hope to build better relationships with the youth. “A big part of it is to build relationships,” said Deputy Nash Garrett, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and event organizer locally.

“My perception is that children are afraid of police. We want to reverse that and have children come to us in time of need,” Garrett said.

“Being a policeman is not just about arresting people; I don’t even like that part, it’s just part of the job,” Garrett said. “The biggest thing for me is to see what I can do to return something to the community.”

“A lot of times, the only interactions some of these kids have with officers is in a negative way,” Cooke said. “This is a way to promote positive law enforcement interaction with the kids.”
This is the sixth year for the program locally. Children were allowed to select $150 of merchandise for themselves, or as gifts for family members, Garrett said.

Funding for the program comes from donations by area businesses to the Fraternal Order of Police, as well as from Wal-Mart.