Shop with a Cop is back

CINCINNATI — For kids, it means gifts under the tree, and for officers, it’s a chance to connect in a different way. 

Shop with a Cop is back, pairing law enforcement with children for a day of shopping and support.  

“We identify kids, we work with the school and our SRO officer, for kids really in need, and it’s great for our officers to get to see these kids, to be able to spend this kind of money,” Reading Police Chief Police Bryan Edens said.

For more than 10 years, Shop with a Cop has been a staple in the greater Cincinnati area, and Edens said seeing the kids get a $500 spending limit is amazing, but he is most impressed by their selflessness

“When you see the smile on their faces and to watch some of these kids, because of where they come from, they worry about family members before buying for themselves, which is huge to see, 7–8-year-olds thinking of grandpa and grandma and siblings before themselves,” Edens said.

Eric Bartlett, a school resource officer at Reading Schools, is pleased to see the difference an event like this can make. 

“It means a lot to our students, means a lot to our officers who organize it with the school,” he said. “The school helps us pick out the children who are in need. We have 12 children I believe this year. We’re hoping it does help their families.”

Edens said this event amazes him time and time again.

“Watching the kids, knowing they don’t have a real limit on them, these are kids who have never had that experience,” he said.