Unusual circumstances result in replay at Parkesburg Walmart
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
As the children eagerly await the results, Coatesville Sgt. Rodger Ollis uses the price-checker to help them stay within their budgets.
The children’s gifts were wrapped and the sirens silenced from the law-enforcement caravan, but days after another successful “Shop with a Cop” program, Coatesville Police experienced a dilemma.
Months before, a Coatesville family had been victimized by a burglary, police said. Although the culprits were not caught, police were left a clue that the criminals were young: Toys had been taken from the residence.
The theft devastated the three children who lived at the home – ages 4, 5, and 9 – and in an apparent effort to console them, a well-intentioned police office mentioned that the kids might be candidates for the “Shop with a Cop” program. What he didn’t know was that the police have no role in the selection process, which is handled by the schools and social-service agencies. Plus, the program targets elementary students, which meant that only one child met the age requirement.
But the officer’s comment greatly buoyed the victims, who didn’t realize that it represented a suggestion, not a foregone conclusion. It also set up the family to experience disappointment a second time: “Shop with a Cop” happened without them. When word of the perceived slight reached the Coatesville Police Department, the thought of the youngsters’ distress didn’t sit well with Police Chief Jack Laufer, who wondered aloud if the department couldn’t try and do something to inject some cheer into the children’s Christmas.
A toy conveniently placed where a 4-year-old can find it catches the eye of one of Saturday’s shoppers.
On Saturday, the answer to Laufer’s question was on display at the Parkesburg Walmart as three beaming, wide-eyed youngsters were treated to a special shopping outing with Coatesville Sgt. Rodger Ollis.
Ollis, one of the program organizers, said he contacted Hope Beyond Borders, the organization that accepted donations for “Shop with a Cop” and handled the finances. Without hesitation, it agreed to provide extra Walmart gift cards, Ollis said. And since word travels fast in the law-enforcement community, West Caln Township Chief Curt Martinez showed up at the Coatesville station with three large bags from the “Toys for Toys” program he organizes each year, a gesture that was greatly appreciated, Ollis said.
He said he was glad that things fell into place so that the family could be included. “Shop with a Cop is far more than a one-day program,” Ollis said, calling it “a policing strategy and philosophical approach” that builds relationships that ultimately improve public safety. “As an organization, we felt that the right thing to do was to have these children “Shop with a Cop,” he said.
Officer Ollis always goes above and beyond for the children of our community….he is the best.