Cops and Kids still taking applications

Officials are still accepting applications and donations for the annual Cops and Kids Christmas event sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #4.

Cops and Kids, formerly the Shop with a Cop program, allows young people ages 5-13 to spend a day with a law enforcement officer, eating lunch and shopping for holiday gifts. The program serves 30-35 children a year, said Sgt. Tom Nagel of the Jamestown Police Department. The event this year begins at 3 p.m. Dec. 18.

Those children are either under privileged of have experienced a recent trauma, Nagel said, like a death in the family or a parent in jail.

“They don’t necessarily need to have financial problems,” Nagel said.

Along with selecting a gift for the child, the goal of the program is to give children an opportunity for positive interaction with a member of law enforcement, Nagel said. Law enforcement agents from Jamestown Police Department, Stutsman County Sheriff’s Department, Stutsman County Corrections and North Dakota Highway Patrol participate.

“It’s an experience with troubled kids to see that cops aren’t always bad guys,” he said.

Children living in Stutsman County are eligible.

To donate or apply, call the Jamestown Police Department at 252-1000.

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