Christmas morning in the Peirce household will be full of gifts.
Until Saturday, it appeared that might not have been the case.
The Midway family with three kids ranging in age from 8 months to 5 years was one of the families that spent Saturday morning at Walmart with police officers and others in the law enforcement community picking out gifts as part of the annual Shop with a Cop program for the less fortunate.
Scott Peirce, the father, went through the store with his kids as they decided what they wanted for Christmas. He said the event brightens up the holidays for the household.
“It takes the pressure off me, wondering how Christmas is going to work,” Peirce said. “It takes the pressure off mom and dad.”
Some of the gifts his kids chose included a Power Wheels kids vehicle and a Pillow Pet, which is a doll that may also be used as a pillow. Peirce said the gifts will be welcome on Christmas morning.
“Christmas — pancakes and bacon and music, and presents under the tree now,” Peirce said.
The Shop with a Cop event, held most years as Christmas approaches, teams the officers with kids for a morning, starting with breakfast at The Yarrow and then followed by a police motorcade from Park City to Kimball Junction, emergency lights on and sirens blaring.
The police say the event is for a good cause and the kids might see officers in a better light afterward. Bob Lucking, a Park City Police Department sergeant and the president of the Park City lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, organized the Saturday event, saying “times are tougher” than they were before for the families.
“Some of them have gone without for a long time . . . Some of the families are really struggling,” Lucking said.
He said Shop with a Cop served 80 families during the holiday season this year, with 67 of them taking part on Saturday. Each is from Summit County or Wasatch County, Lucking said. The children were each given a $100 allowance for their shopping, and Lucking said the police officers oftentimes pay the difference if the kids go a little over the $100.
Lucking said approximately 70 officers participated from local, state and federal agencies. Some of the local ones included the Park City Police Department, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and the Police Department in Kamas. Wasatch County agencies were also represented. Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds described the event as “heartwarming” and a “nice beginning to the holiday season.”
Money is raised throughout the year for the program, with Lucking mentioning Walmart and U.S. Bank as being among the corporations that provided donations. The Yarrow also financially supported the event, he said, as did City Hall employees. On Saturday morning upward of 30 City Hall staffers who are not members of the Police Department assisted with breakfast and wrapping presents. A group of Trailside Elementary School teachers also wrapped presents.
Lucking said the organizers compiled the list of young people after consulting with schools and religious organizations. They also received referrals from neighbors.
Once the emergency vehicles arrived at Walmart, at just after 8 a.m., a medical helicopter circled above. It landed in the parking lot and a man in a Santa Claus costume appeared to the delight of the kids. The youngsters then were paired with the officers to browse the aisles.
Jim Foust, a Park City police officer who went through the store with the Peirce family, was at Walmart just a few hours after his 2 a.m. shift ended. He said the kids will remember the morning for a long time.
“I love doing it. I’m happy to get up in the morning. I look forward to it,” Foust said.