‘Our favorite time of year’

MOSES LAKE — The heavy police presence outside local stores recently wasn’t because of a crime wave. It was police officers engaging in their favorite annual event. 

“This is one of those times throughout the year that we don't have to go and ask for volunteers to help,” said Moses Lake Police Chief David Sands. “The first day we put it out, I think we got 20-some people say ‘Yeah, we’re in.’ That's just under half the department right away.“ 

Law enforcement agencies all over the Basin took part in Shop with a Cop events in the last week. Ephrata held its event Dec. 11, Othello and Ritzville on Dec. 13, and Moses Lake held one Dec. 16 in conjunction with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and several other agencies. Officers from all those departments met up with children from the community to take them to a meal, then on a shopping spree to make sure they had what they wanted for Christmas. Some officers and staff went through the store aisles with the children; others waited in the back of the store to wrap the gifts so they could be put under the family’s tree for Christmas morning.  

Othello PD, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol met up with 10 local children, selected by the department’s school resource officers, at the OPD station, then took them to Time Out Pizza and to Walmart. This year, said OPD Interim Chief Aaron Garza, there were more officers than children and some had to double up. 

“What we do is, we parade,” Garza said.  “We turn on our lights and our sirens, we allow them to push all the buttons and whistles that they want. They grab our (loudspeaker) and they're yelling ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy New Year’ all the way down to Time Out … and then we’ll do the same thing from the restaurant to Walmart.” 

OPD and ACSO were joined by students from Othello’s Police Explorer program, which lets youth 14-20 learn about law enforcement in a direct, hands-on environment. The Explorers helped out by wrapping presents, Garza said. 

OPD doesn’t hold a specific fundraiser, but community donations come in through the department’s social media, Garza said. 

The Ephrata and Soap Lake departments each took three families to dinner at Time Out Pizza in Ephrata, then to Walmart for shopping.  

“We did something new this year,” Hansen said. “We sent out a (questionnaire) that laid out the Christmas needs and wants for Mom and Dad and any siblings (It was) to help guide the officers, because usually they're just doing it blind and on a whim, so we're looking to get a little more specific.” 

The families are selected through local schools and churches, Hansen said. Most of Ephrata’s Shop with a Cop program is paid for through an annual grant from Walmart, Hansen said. It does the children good to see officers in a friendly setting, Hansen said. 

“I think it always generates a positive impact on the relationship between the youth and the officers, to highlight them in a more positive, casual light,” she said. 

Ritzville had to get a little resourceful when it came to Shop with a Cop, said RPD Chief Mike Suniga. Their event was called Shop with a First Responder and included all three officers of RPD, as well as ACSO, East Adams County Rural Healthcare, East Adams Emergency Medical Services, Ritzville Fire Department and Ritzville Chamber of Commerce. Local Scout troops volunteered as well to wrap gifts. The shopping coincided with Ritzville’s other holiday festivals, Suniga said. 

Because Ritzville has no large stores, the local businesses, especially downtown, took up the challenge, Suniga said. 

“The shops around here will open up early,” he said. “The pharmacy is here, Love’s (Travel Stop) has a lot of toys and stuff. The Main Event and The Barnyard opened up, and the thrift store would open up as well. Through those they were able to find gifts for themselves and their family members.” 

Each family also received a gift card to Akins Fresh Market, as well, Suniga said, for groceries. Much of the event is paid for by a donor who steps up anonymously every year, he said. 

“It's a community event where it literally takes the entire community,” he said. 

Moses Lake’s was by far the largest event, with GCSO, Moses Lake, Royal City and Warden police departments, WSP and even Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Students from Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center’s criminal justice program came along to help wrap, as did officers’ spouses and children. The other agencies took care of 10 families between them, said GCSO Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman, and MLPD had 34 children and their families. That’s a record, Sands said. 

“The committee got together and were going through the names that were given by the schools, and they said they couldn't whittle it down,” Sands said. “They said, ‘Man, the stories that we're getting, we just can't.’” 

The families met at Walmart and had a taco dinner catered by A-Crew BBQ, then spread out with their officers into the aisles to pick out clothing and toys. 

Four of those children were there with their dad, Agustin Dominguez. He made it a surprise for the children, he said, which turned out to be more of a surprise than he intended. 

“As soon as we got here, I saw the cops, and I was like, ‘Hey, the cops are here for you,’” Dominguez said. “They were getting scared. I'm like, no, no, no, not like that. ‘We're going to jail?’ No, none of us are going to jail. It's something good. ‘You promise?’ Yes, I promise.” 

Getting to go Christmas shopping with police officers makes a difference in how the children will perceive the police down the road, Garza said. 

“Our whole goal is to put smiles on their faces, to give them the opportunity to experience Christmas in a fun, joyous way,” he said. “And also to extend our police officers out in the community in that type of light, because a lot of times … it tends to be a negative situation where we're getting called there. This is the exact opposite.” 

Shop with a Cop is just as heartening for the police themselves, Kriete said. 

“I know everybody in this room in a uniform looks forward to this date every single year,” Kriete said. This is absolutely our favorite time of year.” 

“I call it recharging your battery,” Suniga said. “When we see all the negative stuff, something like this recharges the battery and keeps us motivated to do what we do.” 

    Soap Lake Police Chief Patrick Canady slaps the cuffs on the Grinch at the Shop with a Cop event in Ephrata Dec. 11.
  

    Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner helps Othello Police Explorers wrap gifts at Othello’s Shop with a Cop Dec. 13.
  

    Warden Police Department Clerk Alexa Martinez, left, shops with 9-year-old Ainara Galindo, her 8-year-old brother Abdiel Galindo and their mom Jasmin Galindo at Moses Lake’s Shop with a Cop Tuesday. The WPD was one of six law enforcement agencies taking part that night.
  

    The Ritzville Police joined forces with firefighters, EMS and the hospital for Shop with a First Responder Dec. 13.
  

    Ephrata Police Officer Marvin Canizales makes some dreams come true at Ephrata’s Shop with a Cop Dec. 11.
  

    Moses Lake Police Officer Gregorio Alvarado picks out clothes with 8-year-old Carter Dominguez.
  

    Moses Lake School Resource Officer Ray Lopez, in his annual role as Santa, poses for a photo at Moses Lake’s Shop with a Cop Tuesday.