Local kids ‘Shop with a Cop’ in Riverhead

Christmas came early for 25 local kids yesterday. 

There were smiles all around as children in kindergarten through high school went on a pre-holiday shopping spree with Riverhead police officers at the Riverhead Target store.

Each kid had $100 to spend on whatever they wanted, courtesy of Riverhead Police officers’ unions, whose members accompanied them around the store. Kids and cops fanned across the store, walking the aisles and picking out games, toys, stuffed animals and clothes. Kids also got goody bags from police, with treats and trinkets, coloring books and crayons.

After checking out at the cashier, the boys and girls and their family members had pizza and refreshments with police, courtesy of Target, in the employees’ area of the store.

The Riverhead Police PBA and Riverhead Police SOA, the unions that represent police officers in Riverhead, funded and coordinated the “Shop with a Cop” event, a first for Riverhead Police.

And last night, the cops seemed to have as much fun as the kids, helping them pick out what they wanted to buy, smiling broadly as the childrens’ faces lit up when they found just what they wanted. 

Police set up a table inside Target and gave away goody bags to all youngsters who stopped to say hello. The police officers put together 250 goody bags to give away.

Kids selected to participate in the “Shop with a Cop” event were suggested by Riverhead school officials in collaboration with the Riverhead Police school resource officers, Eric Cohen and Kaley Castantine, who were on hand Tuesday evening to check-in each of the students as they arrived.

The police union members have a long tradition of adopting families in town to spread some holiday cheer. With the assistance of school counselors and teachers, who select families and provide information about them, such as gender and ages of children, so the officers could shop for appropriate gifts,  the officers shop for presents, wrap them and put together baskets filled with food for a holiday dinner. Typically, the cops assemble everything at the municipal garage a day or two before Christmas and then deliver the gifts and food to their adopted families around town. 

“We’re still doing that,” Riverhead Police PBA President Charles Mauceri said, “but this year we added Shop with a Cop,” he said. The event is a popular “new trend” in police departments, he said. 

The event provides the chance for more interaction with families, especially youngsters, which is an important objective.

The police officers who participated in “Shop with a Cop” were all off-duty, volunteering their time, Mauceri noted. About 30 officers turned out for the event, including, much to the children’s delight, two K-9 cops and their furry, four-legged partners.