12th District officers participate in annual 'Shop with a Cop' event ahead of the holidays

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Philadelphia police host annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ event before the holidays

Kids and cops hit the aisles of Walmart on Saturday with 250 dollar gift cards in hand for the annual 'Shop with a Cop' event.

Christmas is less than a week away and some Philadelphia police officers are doing their part to spread holiday cheer with their annual Shop with a Cop event!

Officers with the 12th District gave gift cards to some very deserving children before taking them on a shopping spree at Walmart.

"We located 20 kids that were doing good in school and that was a little bit in need," explained Capt. Scott Drissel.

Capt. Drissel and the officers from his district played the role of Santa's helpers on Saturday, helping those in need with some extra holiday cheer during an especially tough year.

"I’m a father of four kids myself and I know that the pandemic has been extremely hard on children so we just wanted to engage the community and give an opportunity to the kids to maybe brighten their Christmas up a little bit," Capt. Drissel added.

Officers from the 12th District spent the day at a local Walmart, helping deserving kids fill their carts with toys and clothes.

Before they hit the aisles in search of clothes and toys each child was given a $250 gift card to spend on anything they like.

Capt. Drissel says the event is also a great chance to foster positive relationships between youth and police. He added that it's not just the kids who end up having a good time.

"It’s very enjoyable and they get a kick out of it and really deep down I’ll fill you in a secret, we get a kick out of it too," he said.

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