Paterson police reach out to community through ‘Shop with a Cop’ program
PATERSON — Anyelina Marinez thinks the city suffers because of misunderstandings between its residents and its police officers.
“Some people are confused about the police and some police are confused about the people,” she said. “There’s a lot of confusion.”
So Marinez took her six children to the Center City Mall on Wednesday night to participate in Paterson’s inaugural “Shop with a Cop” event. Through the program, Paterson’s community policing division provided more than 160 children with gift cards for stores, food and movies at the mall.
“I don’t want my children to be afraid of the police,” Marinez said. “A lot of kids are afraid because of what they hear on the news.”
Almost 20 police officers participated in the program, distributing the gift cards and food coupons and posing for pictures with the participants. Mayor Andre Sayegh said he suggested the program, which he said is designed to build trust between citizens and cops by “humanizing” police officers.
“This gives them some interaction with the police that’s more favorable,” the mayor said.
The money for the event came from a Paterson Anti-Violence Youth Program police grant, officials said. Each child participating received a $100 card for the mall’s Burlington or Marshalls store, a $15 card for the Fabian movie theater at Center City and either $15 or $20 tickets for one of three of the mall’s eateries.
Melady Rosario said she and her 7-year-old daughter wouldn’t be able to afford their outing at the mall if it weren’t for the gift cards from the Police Department. Rosario said it was good for the children to have dealings with the police like Wednesday’s event, so they learn “right from wrong.”
James Ramsey took his 18-year-old grandson, Naiyron, to the event. Ramsey and his grandson said they supported the effort to build trust between the community and police officers.
“People have to get together so they can do good,” the teenager said.
The youths participating in the event were picked for the program by the Paterson school district, the Passaic County Board of Social Services and elected officials, said Lt. Sharon Easton of the community police division.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” Easton said. “It feels good to give. It’s different when people come up and hug you.”
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Easton said an event like Shop with a Cop would create positive memories for the children about police officers. Acting Police Chief Engelbert “Bert” Ribeiro echoed those comments, saying many people deal with law enforcement officers only in connection with crimes, whether as victims, suspects or witnesses.
“It’s important for the police to interact with the community like this, not as enforcers but as somebody who helps them,” Ribeiro said. “It lets the community see us in a different light."
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.
Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ police launch ‘Shop with a Cop’ program
