Cleveland Heights Police Give Back To Community

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Over the past week, Cleveland Heights police took part in two events giving back to their community: Shop with a Cop and Fill the Cruiser. Officers took children Christmas shopping and collected food for families in need during the holiday season.

For the ninth straight year, officers sold raffle tickets to raise money for their Shop with a Cop efforts. This year, police sponsored five children for the event and each child had $150 to spend. The Heights High basketball team also surprised the group of children with early Christmas presents.

"We were very grateful to be part of this event. We are so proud to be part of such a great community. The generosity of all is overwhelming," the police department said in a statement on Facebook.

On Thursday, Dec. 12 police were invited to the Cedar-Lee Special Improvement District to take part in the Sugar and Spice event. For the first time, officers were collecting food to donate to the Heights Emergency Food Center.

After just 40 minutes of accepting donations, police had to call for extra cruisers to collect all the food. Officers ended up receiving more than six shopping carts of items, or 800 pounds of food. Police said they were amazed by the turnout and the generosity of residents.

" It was a humbling experience and Investigator Tyler Allen did a fantastic job of advertising the event and encouraging people to donate during this holiday season," Police Chief Annette Mecklenburg said. "Based on the success, we will be looking to continue this as a yearly tradition during the holiday season."