Downey police officers take 20 families holiday shopping

Downey police officers treated local families to a $350 shopping spree at Walmart on Saturday. (Photos by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY — More than 20 families in need were gifted a little extra holiday magic during a “Shop with a Cop” event over the weekend.

Downey Police Department officers – many behind the wheels of shopping carts that were quickly filled with toys, clothes and other goodies – flanked 22 delighted children and their families as they perused up and down the aisles of Walmart at the Downey Promenade on Saturday.

Each child was paired with an officer and given $350 for a shopping spree of their choosing. In addition, each family was served a Chick-fil-A breakfast (held at the Barbara J. Riley Community & Senior Center), was transported to Walmart as part of a police motorcade, and given other gift cards for later use.

“Shop with a Cop” has continued to grow since it was first introduced in 2019.

“Because of the city, because of the businesses within our city, the donations have increased significantly,” said Ralph Diaz, president of the Downey Police Officers Association. “The family in total leaves with $800 either in gift cards to a store, gift cards to Walmart. Footlocker also stepped up this year and provided a $100 gift card so that the kids can go into their facility and buy sneakers or whatever it is they sell there from their store.”

Families were chosen for the event by the Downey Unified School District.

“The school district is great in providing the names of the families that require the assistance, especially for the holiday season,” said Diaz.

Many of the participating kids used the gift cards to buy gifts for their loved ones rather than splurge on themselves entirely.

Tim McCarthy, secretary of the DPOA, said that, “It’s nice to see the heart of these kids.”

“This is the fourth time we’ve done it, and we start to see them generally get some stuff for themselves, but it is kind of amazing to see a majority of these kids will step away from the toys and start getting other family members gifts as well,” said McCarthy. “They’ve got pretty giving hearts at a young age.”

Police Chief Leslie Murray said “she couldn’t be more proud of this event.”

“It’s become one of my favorite events for a variety of reasons,” said Murray. “The school district does an amazing job of pairing us with families that really show the need, and so that makes it just so much more special to be able to help these families out, especially during the holidays; and for our folks to connect with these children is a very heartwarming event for all of us.”