Shop with a Cop returns to Rifle on Saturday, Dec. 14 to the excitement of the Rifle Police Department and Rifle Police Foundation. 

The annual tradition of pairing Rifle Police Officers with local fifth graders for a day of holiday shopping, gift wrapping and community connection has helped numerous children shop for their families.

At 9 a.m. Saturday at the Rifle Police Department, children will meet their officer partners before heading to the Walmart in Rifle. 

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Each child is given a budget that is funded by community donations to shop for holiday gifts for their families. While shopping, participants enjoy hot chocolate, wrap gifts and share lunch with the Rifle Police Officers. 

“This event is a highlight of the year for both the officers and the kids,” said Chief Debra Funston. “It’s an incredible way to build connections while helping spread holiday joy to local families.”

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Rifle PD isn’t the only department to do this; Parachute Police is having their Shop with a Cop event this Saturday. 

The officers and kids will get to Walmart around 9 a.m. and shop until around 10:30 a.m., then off they’ll go for cocoa, lunch and a present wrapping party. 

The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office deputies are also participating in the Shop with a Cop event for the fourth year, taking place on Dec. 15. 

In 2023, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office received donations from businesses and citizens across Garfield county to support approximately 60 local children and their families during the holiday season.

As Sheriff Lou Vallario writes on the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office website, the program is designed to unite the Garfield County deputies, Silt Police Department officers and public safety employees with local disadvantaged children for a special day of holiday shopping. 

The children and families are carefully selected and screened by local law enforcement officers to reach those most in need, working in tandem with other programs designed to help kids and families in need like the Angel Tree program to make sure there aren’t any duplicates. Most of the children in the Shop with a Cop events come from the local schools and their liaisons. 

According to the Garfield County Sheriffs, their goal is to sponsor as many children as possible through the support of donations from businesses and citizens. While these contributions directly benefit the Shop with a Cop event, it can also be used by the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office for other community programs. 

The Silt Police Department participates in the Shop with a Cop event with the Garfield County Sheriffs and Officer Calvin Portwood of the Silt PD says none of the officers have to be asked. 

“We don’t need to make it mandatory, the officers come in on their day off and we assist the deputies of the Garfield County Sheriffs,” Portwood said. 

Portwood said the Silt PD does all they can in assisting in getting donations and helping the kids. 

“I just recently took over the program this year, Christmas is an important holiday to me,” Portwood said. “I did Code Enforcement last year for the Town of Silt and participated in the Shop with a Cop event.”

Portwood said the program is important to him, to make it special for the kids they’re helping. 

“I grew up in a rough marriage, there were five of us boys, so Christmases were hard, there was a lot of fighting and I never got to enjoy Christmas or Thanksgiving,” Portwood explained. “It’s important to me, especially now that I have my own family.”

Portwood said he skips Thanksgiving entirely; as soon as November rolls around, he’s already jamming out to Christmas music. 

“We all meet up at the Walmart in Rifle,” he said, describing how their Shop with a Cop event works. “We huddle around until the kids start showing up, then we spread out, get a cart, are handed a child, and we go shopping.”

Portwood said that the kids can pick out whatever they want, but that most kids don’t focus on themselves. 

“90% of the kids I took shopping last year couldn’t care less about what they wanted for Christmas,” he said. “They prefer spending their gifts on Mom or Dad or their families.”

Portwood said they spend roughly $200 per child, but he believes it will be upped this year because they’re having their biggest turnout and they had a flood of donations this year. 

“After the cart is filled up, the cool part of the program is that the officers bring family or friends to a whole station set up for wrapping presents,” Portwood said. “Then the presents are put back in the cart to take home.”