By Rachel M. Lusby

The Tukwila Police Department. is at it again, helping the kids of their community. This time they are spreading holiday cheer through their “Shop with a Cop” event, held annually for the last three years.

The goal of this event, coordinated by Officer Ted Rutt, is to give children from the three elementary schools in the city a Christmas that exceeds the expectations those children initially had. School faculties are asked to choose children who have the absolute greatest need each holiday season, and then police officers volunteer to take these children Christmas shopping not only for themselves but for their siblings as well.

This year, Toys R Us in Southcenter kindly donated $100 gift cards for a shopping spree through the entire store. Officer Rory Mettlin donated an extra $25 for each card.

Police Chief Mike Villa volunteered for the first time this year. He is the new chief for the city.
“It’s a good time,” said Villa. “It’s good to have this positive interaction with the kids-- between the police and youth.”
Villa said it is just fun to be able to do stuff in the community with the kids.

The children could not stop smiling through the entire day. The Southcenter Azteca restaurant gave space prior to the start of the restaurant’s day, for wrapping the gifts the children picked out. Afterward, the Southcenter Applebees provided lunch for everyone.
“The kids we have need that role model,” said Officer Rutt. “We didn’t participate in this for a long time, but I had always heard of it.”

Officer Rutt is known throughout the Tukwila community by school children as the long-time D.A.R.E. officer (Drug Abuse Resistance Education. He has been doing that for well over a decade.