The officers took kids shopping as part of the "Shop With A Cop" Christmas program. Officers helped the kids pick out new clothes at the K-Mart on Avondale Drive.
This year 10 children from Durham's growing Hispanic community were included in the group, which totaled 17.
Each child had $125 to spend, $100 from the officers' program, the remaining $25 contributed by K-Mart.
The children were paired with officers, who escorted them around the store, helping them chose items for themselves or family members. The cops, many of them parents themselves, helped the kids figure out sizes or what would be a better bargain.
In short order, shopping carts were filled and rolled to the check-out lines.
"It's a way we can get involved with them and hopefully they'll trust us more. If they have information they might turn it in, maybe they'll feel more comfortable talking to someone whose helped them in the past," said Sgt. Phil Wiggins, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police.
The Fraternal Order of Police sponsors the "Shop With A Cop" program every Christmas.
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