Mishawaka Police Department holds 14th annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ holiday event

MISHAWAKA, Ind. (WNDU) – The Mishawaka Police Department held its 14th annual “Shop with a Cop” holiday event on Tuesday night.

WNDU 16 News Now joined in on the shopping fun.

The kids had a blast, especially getting the chance to talk to Santa to make sure he got their Christmas list before hopping into some police cruisers for a shopping spree.

The event started at the Mishawaka Police Department, where families were partnered with a police officer, got to grub on some Mission BBQ, color Christmas-themed drawings and sit on Santa’s lap!

That was before heading to the Meijer on Grape Road to have a shopping spree, as each child got a $140 gift card to buy whatever they chose.

Some kids’ strategy was to walk through the aisles before choosing a toy, and others were just piling things into the cart. One of the most surprising items we saw a child pick was the 32-inch flatscreen TV.

“This is our fourteenth year doing it with Mishawaka police. Mission BBQ donated some food for us. We’re gonna come here, we’re gonna eat, we’re gonna take pictures with Santa Claus, then we’re gonna go to Meijer, they’re generous to donate some money for us. And then tomorrow, we have another event. So, it’ll start all over again tomorrow, especially during the holidays. Its biggest thing is to give back to the community who is there for us, so we got to get back to them as well,” said Officer Andrew Bauer.

There will be another “Shop with a Cop” event tomorrow with food catered by Monterrey Mexican.

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