Third grader Jorge Vasquez says he’s never been on a shopping spree like this before.
On Saturday, Vasquez and hundreds of other deserving San Diego kids got to “shop with a cop”.
“This is one of my special days today to shop with a cop,” Vasquez tells NBC 7. He bought an Xbox and a super hero video game. He says he was really surprised when his teacher told him he was going shopping with a cop and his parents “got really happy.”
After having breakfast with the cops at Sea World, then there was a full police escort to Target where each child was given a $150 gift card to go shopping.
The kids shopped with officers from three dozen law enforcement agencies.
They bought clothes and toys for themselves and gifts for their families.
“I think they're amazing and they're really awesome,” Vasquez says. “They support the country and help the country.”
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Sergeant Esmeralda Tagaband, who shopped with Vasquez, says it’s a special day for her too.
“We don’t always get to see the best side of people, but this today is like really, really nice because we actually get to put a smile on someone’s face,” she says.
Tagabond says shopping with the kids gives all the officers that warm and fuzzy feeling inside and it “creates a greater bond between us all.”
Vasquez, for his part, advises everyone to not be mean and cruel but to be kind to each other.
The annual holiday event brings together officers and underprivileged children for a day of Christmas shopping and learning about law enforcement.
