Raleigh officers connect with kids at Shop with a Cop

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- There's excitement in the air and big smiles all around whenever we cover a Shop With A Cop event.

On Saturday, our cameras rolled in Raleigh, where the activity started right on time for Antoinette Grant, a mother of four.

"Relocating here has taken a toll on myself, as a single mother," she said as the officers accompanied children through the store's aisles. "They have come in and been a extreme blessing to myself and my children!"

Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown said Raleigh's police officers look forward to this annual duty, "To warm all hearts. Ours as well as those young folks who are here partnering with us and shopping this morning."

One child, seventh grader Brooklyn Ranby Carr, said at first "I was excited and nervous at the same time because, it's a cop, you know? They're like, scary at times."

But the experience at Wal-Mart really opened her eyes:

"My favorite part was getting to interact with my cop. Like, getting to talk to him and getting to know him more, as a person!"

That's the idea behind Shop With A Cop, Chief Deck-Brown told us, adding that "For us to leave somebody better than we found them, to make a difference in their life. To put a smile on a kid's face who might not necessarily see a Christmas otherwise is just a tremendous opportunity."

Raleigh kids got a chance to meet members of the police department at a shopping event at Walmart.