Behind the Badge
The 10-year-old scrunched up her face in the boys clothes section of Target.
“Do you see anything you like?” Fullerton PD Corporal Gaby Soto asked her.
Alisha Zazueta wanted to get shirts for her three older brothers, but she was having a tough time picking them out.
“We should come back here last,” Soto told Alisha, a fifth-grader at Beechwood Elementary in Fullerton. “It may take a while.”
Naveyah Latham, 8 of Fullerton, gets a hug from Dawn Scruggs, forensic specialist for the Fullerton Police Department, at the conclusion of a Shop with a Cop special event at a Target store in Fullerton on Dec. 17. Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Alisha had an easier time selecting a present for her mother, Betsy: something shaped in the infinity symbol (shhh, it’s a surprise).
It didn’t take infinity for Alisha to spend her $100 gift certificate during the Fullerton PD’s annual Shop with a Cop event last week.
But the memories of the special night will last that long. One look at her smiling face said it all.
Alisha, a soft-spoken girl who wants to become a musician or an artist, took her time picking out just the right gifts for her mom, brothers and herself.
Fullerton Police Corporal Gaby Soto helps 10-year-old Alisha Zazueta look for shirts for Alisha’s three brothers. Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Prior to Wednesday night’s shopping spree, which was preceded by dinner at Fullerton PD headquarters, Alisha’s only contact with police officers had been in scary situations.
She said she had been robbed once in Anaheim where she lives. And she saw cops up close when her mother got into a car accident.
Shopping with Soto and the other officers who were paired up with 14 kids Dec. 17 made a big difference in how Alisha’s sees men and women in uniform.
“They’re nice,” see said.
Showing kids that cops are people too is one of the benefits of the Shop with a Cop Christmas tradition, in which schools select children who would benefit most from a relationship with an officer.
Members of the Fullerton Police Department gather at a Target store in Fullerton with kids selected by their school for a special holiday shopping trip with a police officer. Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“This gives kids the opportunity to know cops a little bit better,” said Soto, 31, a school resource officer at Fullerton High School. “Everyone likes firefighters, but a lot of people are afraid of us — and that’s not what we want.”
Like most of the young shoppers, Alisha went over her budget.
The bill for four shirts, a book, a skateboard and other items totaled $148.32.
Soto dipped into her own pocket to make up the difference. So, too, did the other participating officers.
In addition to seeing how cops are just people too, Alisha learned another valuable lesson that night.
“It sounds like a lot ($100), but it goes fast,” she said.
Dawn Scruggs, forensic specialist at the Fullerton Police Department, watches over Edgar Quirino, 7, left, and Ronaldo Romero, 11, as they and the other kids are fed dinner at the Fullerton Police Department before being taking out on a holiday shopping trip. Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
