MOUNT VERNON — Law enforcement officers carry various pieces of equipment in the trunk of their vehicles, including first-aid kits, road flares, and perhaps electronics and traffic cones. While those are easy to imagine in an officer’s trunk, many local officers carry something quite unexpected — a teddy bear or two.
“All of us have given them out,”
said Lt. Tom Durbin of the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, “whether it’s a domestic situation, car accident, or any time a young child is upset. The kids I’ve given them to latch on to them.”A possible scenario unfolds when two police officers arrive at the scene of a domestic dispute. The parents have been fighting, their children are upset, and then law enforcement officers arrive wearing pressed uniforms and utility belts.
“Most kids aren’t afraid (of law enforcement personnel), but in any situation when we have to go to their homes, it’s frightening for children,”
added Deputy Scott Baker, “Most of us try to be courteous in front of parents and the bears help us relate to the kids.”For the rest of the story
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