Officers Escort Children for Holiday Shopping, Strengthen Community Ties
On December 5, Summit County Sheriff’s Office and Park City Police partnered to bring more than 100 officers together to escort about 65 children for the annual Shop with a Cop program, beginning with a donated breakfast and a police vehicle convoy to the Kimball Junction Walmart. The event provided gifts, holiday meals, and gift cards for additional families, highlighting local efforts to support low income households and foster positive police community engagement during the holidays.
Summit County law enforcement and Park City police joined forces on December 5 for the annual Shop with a Cop event, sending a large police vehicle convoy along SR 224 to Kimball Junction and accompanying roughly 65 children on a morning of holiday shopping. The day began with a donated breakfast for participants, followed by officers and children pairing up at the Kimball Junction Walmart to choose gifts.
More than 100 officers from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and Park City Police Department took part in the operation, while organizers arranged for additional families who could not attend in person to receive holiday meals and gift cards. The convoy moved along SR 224 during the morning hours, temporarily affecting traffic near Kimball Junction as officers escorted families to the store.
Organizers framed Shop with a Cop as both a direct support program for families facing financial strain and a chance to build positive relationships between children and law enforcement. Sgt. Skyler Talbot spoke about the program as an opportunity to create constructive, personal contact between officers and community members and to provide tangible holiday assistance to low income households.
The event matters to Summit County residents on several fronts. For participating families the program eased immediate needs around gifts and meals, helping to reduce holiday related stress that can compound food insecurity and mental health burdens. For the community it served as a highly visible exercise in community policing, with potential to influence public perceptions of safety and trust. The large officer presence and convoy also illustrated complexities around logistics, traffic management, and public safety planning when law enforcement leads community focused events.
While holiday programs offer timely relief and connection, organizers and local advocates say such efforts underscore broader policy questions about year round supports for low income families, including food assistance, affordable housing, and mental health services. The December 5 event highlighted the goodwill and coordination available in Summit County, while also pointing to ongoing needs that require sustained public investment beyond seasonal outreach.
