Jackson police hold annual ‘Shop With a Cop’

JACKSON, Tenn. — A group of Hub City children were able to celebrate Christmas a little early Thursday afternoon.

There is nothing more joyous then seeing a child smile after opening their Christmas presents, and the Jackson Police Department was not going to let the pandemic keep that from happening this year.

“It’s something that we do every year, and we just didn’t want it to stop us. Kids are still going to be kids no matter if there is Covid around or not,” said JPD Captain Jeff Shepard.

Jackson police and kids came together for the annual Shop With a Cop, but things were a little bit different this year.

“Because of the Covid, we felt like we needed to do something different, so we got gift cards for each kid and then they were able to shop online,” Shepard said.

Thursday afternoon, the children and officers met for a long awaited Christmas present arrival.

“I was most excited to pick out this nice watch, backpack and headphones,” Loreal said.

“Second was some shoes, third was pajamas, fourth was some shirts, fifth was some pants, sixth was some toys,” Akyron said.

“A controller and an air pump,” Kailynd said.

“Everything that belongs to my PS4,” Taeshon said.

The kids shared their appreciation for the officers who helped make Christmas special. Some even shared the gift of giving by picking out gifts for family members.

“It’s a fun feeling. Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas until we do this kind of thing,” Shepard said.

The officers and kids wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.