Building trust: North Charleston officers and kids bond during holiday shopping spree

CHARLESTON COUNTY , S.C. (WCIV) — From roller blades and bikes to new shoes and groceries, kids filled their shopping carts with the help of the North Charleston Police Department Saturday morning at the Walmart on Dorchester Road.

NCPD is helping kids in need kids in their community with a Christmas shopping spree, or “Shop with a Cop.” Guidance counselors helped select the kids and paired them with officers that let them fill their carts with whatever they wanted. 62 kids ran up and down the aisles filling their carts with Legos, Squishmellos, makeup sets, gift cards, and more.

But many kids choose to fill their carts with gifts and groceries for their families.

Sergeant James Camp helped organize the event. He told News 4 that the “Shop with a Cop” event is a heartwarming reminder why officers are called to serve their community in every situation. He shared his favorite part of the day was giving a set of siblings help with their wants and needs. He emotionally shared the family has been living in an hotel for weeks.

“It makes me choke up a little bit,” Sgt. Camp said. “ The two older siblings came up with the needs so that the little siblings could buy the wants.” Camp said it was amazing to see the impact their department was making not only on one child but an entire family.

Officers said this event is about much more than checking things off a wish list. It’s an opportunity to bridge the gap between law enforcement and children in the community while giving them a little Christmas spirit that they might not get otherwise.

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Newly-sworn-in Chief Ron Camacho said this program aligns with his ambition of being active in the community.

“We’re interacting in a positive way, and when you do that you lower barriers,” Chief Camacho said. “There are some kids here who haven’t been in the country that long and they didn’t really speak that much English. They were a little apprehensive when we first started picking them up and bringing them here, but by the end, the smiles were big. They were super happy, and they learned to trust the police.”

Chief Camacho said for many of these kids it was also a chance to have a non-crisis interaction with law enforcement. Most times when a police officer is there it’s a bad day. This day was a good day, and a nice Christmas memory.