In the presents of peace officers: Record-high 61 kids pick out gifts in annual Shop With A Cop

Everything else in the shopping cart will remain a secret until the gifts are unwrapped Christmas morning, but an intriguing moment in Juneau’s annual Shop With A Cop on behalf of 32 families Saturday was Charles John, 10, ended up picking his family’s Christmas dinner by having to make an instant decision at the checkout line.

“Does your family like turkey or ham better?” asked Mitch Cook, a training sergeant at Lemon Creek Correctional Center who accompanied John during the mid-morning shopping trip, as helpers picked out feast fixings to add to the youth’s cart of gifts that had been selected during the previous half hour.

“Ham,” John replied.

His shopping was done for the day, but the shopping for the family wasn’t as Cook was planning to drop off John and his purchases before returning to the store to buy gifts for John on his list. Somewhere else in the store Cook’s wife, Lisa, an administrative assistant at the Juneau prison, was finishing up a similar shopping trip with John’s sister, Carrie, 8.

The couple, who has other family members working in the corrections system, has accompanied youngsters on such trips in recent years.

“We just enjoy helping out,” Lisa Cook said. “The Salvation Army helped me out as a kid, my brother and I, we got a lot of help from them, and it’s really important to my brother and I to help out.”

The 61 kids participating in Saturday’s shopping event was an all-time high for the event, with the number based on how much money from donations can assist families who sign up seeking to participate, said Kirt Stage-Harvey, a Juneau Police Department detective who helps organize the program. He said 40 to 50 kids usually are selected each year, with factors such as those who’ve been in at-risk experiences taken into account, and there were about 160 signups this year to select from.

The morning began with the kids arriving at the JPD station where they were partnered with an officer from one of several law enforcement agencies that also included the Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Department of Corrections, U.S. Transport Security Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement.

After a group picture the officers and their young shoppers drove in a procession of official and personal vehicles about two miles along Glacier Highway to Fred Meyer, where employees in holiday outfits were waiting to greet them in the parking lot that was covered with a fresh dusting of snow. Just inside at the southern end of the store — the closest to the toy section · were warm drinks and snacks, after which the cop-and-kid duos began their shopping.

For Charles John, the first decision was a small or large shopping cart, opting for the former. After that, he was told he had $100 to pick out gifts for whoever might be on his shopping list. After naming four family members he wanted to shop for, he and Mitch Cook started browsing the aisles.

As it turned out, there was a shared quality in the first round of items John picked out.

“Almost my whole family likes [item reacted] except me,” he said.

A few more items would be added during another trip through aisles bearing gifts before John, who when asked what he wants said a Prodigy membership because he’s a math fan, reached the checkout line with his shopping assistant.

“Somehow we still have $45 left,” John said, having kept a tally of the total along the way.

For Mitch Cook, helping out with both gift suggestions and keeping track of price tags, a few more hours during the day would be spent buying additional gifts for their shopping partners, and then wrapping the presents so they can be delivered to the family’s house before Christmas Day.

“Over a few years I’ve gotten better at it,” he said, “Not as good as the ladies are, but I’ve gotten better.”

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.