‘This is the time of giving’

MOSES LAKE — They might have been the best shoes ever. 

The children and their law enforcement shopping buddies were looking over the shelves at the Moses Lake Walmart, and Kamilla was getting a new pair of shoes. The shoes had lights in them that flashed as she walked, and Kamilla didn’t even care that she was only wearing one shoe. She wasn’t interested in shopping or anything else - she just wanted to stomp on the floor and watch the lights flash in her new shoe. 

The Moses Lake Police Department, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and, said Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete, a number of other agencies teamed up for Shop With a Cop 2023. Law enforcement personnel from Royal City, Mattawa, Warden, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington State Patrol also volunteered their time to go shopping with children, Kriete said.

Each child gets a budget, and their shopping buddies help them keep track. That’s not always easy; Brady and his shopping buddy Zack Schaal of the MLPD were weighing the relative merits of the gift Brady was considering against the remaining budget.

“That’s a lot of math to do in my head,” Schaal said.

Children bought presents for family and friends, and sometimes necessities for themselves. Moses Lake Officer Isaac Taylor and his shopping buddy Brody were in the shoe aisle, discussing the relative merits of different kinds of winter boots. 

Brody was eyeing a pair of low-cut boots, but Taylor pointed out a possible problem - low-cut boots could mean wet socks.

“I don’t like walking around in wet socks. Do you?” Taylor asked Brody, and Brody said he was right.

The shopping was the finale of a busy evening. The children, their families and their shopping buddies arrived in patrol vehicles with lights flashing, then had a pizza party. Only when the pizza was done did the children and their shopping buddies hit the aisles.

Kirete said that for GCSO, it’s one of the best times of the year. 

“We love it,” he said. “It’s a different side of law enforcement they don’t get to see all the time.”

Edmond Guerrero, MLPD officer, is a Shop With a Cop veteran and said it’s always a worthy project. 

“This is the time of giving. If we can help out the community, that’s all that matters,” Guerrero said.

Christina Valdez, also with the MLPD, said the shopping buddies get a lot out of it, too.

“The feeling of helping the kids — the excitement on their faces — it’s a really good feeling,” she said. 

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Moses Lake Police Department Officer Alejandro Vazquez, left, stops to tie a shoe for Kamilla, one of his shopping buddies.
  

    The shopping done and the cart loaded, Moses Lake Police Department personnel and their shopping buddies head toward the checkout.
  

    Grant County Sheriff’s Deputy Stormy Baughman, rear, and his shopping buddy Lakota weigh the merits of the toy options during Shop With a Cop Tuesday.
  

    A Moses Lake Police Department officer hands out a candy cane to a passing child during Shop With a Cop Tuesday.