The Pierceton Police Department participated in this year’s Kosciusko County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #149 Christmas with a Cop. Pictured are PPD officer Ashley Jones (L) and PPD officer Ryan Piper (R). Photo provided.
The Pierceton Police Department participated in this year’s Kosciusko County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #149 Christmas with a Cop. Pictured are PPD officer Ashley Jones (L) and PPD officer Ryan Piper (R). Photo provided.
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Recently, officers from all across Kosciusko County converged on Meijer for the annual Christmas with a Cop event sponsored by the Kosciusko County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #149 and hosted by the Warsaw Meijer store.

Local law enforcement was not spared the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, so like most functions this year, they did things a bit different, according to a news release from Warsaw Police Department Public Information Officer Det. Brad Kellar on behalf of all FOP members. Instead of a one-night event where officers meet with children and shop at Meijer, this year officers took names of children and shopped in the evening throughout last week. After shopping, arrangements were made to transport the clothing and toys to homes, taking every safety precaution. Officers found free time in the evenings to accomplish this mission.

Kosciusko County FOP Lodge #149 was able to bring gifts to 95 children throughout the county, between the ages of 4 to 12.  While the activity of this detail was much different than years past, “we were pleased to see the same outcome: smiles on the faces of children that have found themselves in difficult situations over this past year,” the release states.

“While we want to thank all of our local law enforcement that participated in this event, it is even more important to thank our community who generously supports FOP Lodge #149 through private donations, as well as being a part of our fundraising efforts. By far, our biggest moneymaker that helps our community’s girls and boys is the FOP Lodge #149 Annual Golf Outing. We could not accomplish this goal without all of those willing to support us financially. We would be remiss not to give a special thanks to the management and staff of Meijer. They always roll out the red carpet for us and are a huge help in making this detail successful,” according to the release.

If anyone wishes to support this endeavor in the future, follow the FOP on social media for upcoming events.

“On behalf of all of your local law enforcement FOP members, we are thankful for the honor to serve our community in this manner. Furthermore, we wish our community a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!” concludes the release.