12/11/2025
Hammondsport Police Officers Alex Hevey, Kyle Storms and Chief Mullen had the honor to attend the Annual Shop with a Cop along with a number of other Law Enforcement agencies throughout the area.
This event gives Local Law Enforcement the opportunity to help make these families Holiday Season better! It is also an opportunity to show the families we are there for them and to build a positive relationship with them!
“BATH, NY (WENY) — Kids from a local domestic violence shelter had the chance to ‘Shop with a Cop’ on Wednesday, December 10th in Bath. While the children had fun, the event was also about building a positive relationship with law enforcement.
“It’s important for them, considering the situation they’ve been in, that they can be around law enforcement and understand they’re here to help them, not hinder the situation. They get to get out, enjoy themselves, and have a wonderful Christmas,” said the Crimes Victim Advocate for Steuben County, Elizabeth Covert.
Wednesday morning started with the children meeting the officers and exploring the inside of their vehicles. From there, they headed to Tractor Supply, Family Dollar, and Dollar General.
“The kid I had actually picked me. He came right over and said, ‘I think I’m gonna go with you.’ It must’ve been my bald head or something, I don’t know,” as Chief Chad Mullen with the Hammondsport Village Police Department smiled. “To give back to these kids is fantastic, and these kids this year were very … much thinking about each other. Some years, some kids go, ‘I want this, I want this, I want this.’ But these kids were like, ‘I want to get this for my sister, my brother, I’m gonna get this for my mom.’ They were really family-oriented, and I loved it.”
Lieutenant Matthew Baker with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation added, “I’ve been doing this since 2017, and I love this event. It’s great. I like helping the community and working with kids. It’s such a pleasure to help them get themselves some Christmas gifts and their family.”
The children bought toys and goodies for themselves and for their siblings and parents. Lt. Baker said it’s great to bond with kids in a way that’s not scary for them.
“I think it’s great to help the children and their families out at Christmas who may be going through a tough time. It gives them a good perspective on positively dealing with police officers, to build that relationship that they may not have had before,” said Lt. Baker.
He and Chief Mullen said it was great getting to know the kids while also having fun.
“This year, I had a young teenage girl. She shopped for herself and her family. She has some young siblings. Her brother is actually (here), and we got him a Nerf gun, and later we found out he got himself the same gun, so we gave that toy to another child,” said Lt. Baker.
Chief Mullen added, “My favorite part was watching him pick things that portrayed what his family would want, and we had a lot of jokes. A lot of fun. Made some fart jokes himself,” he laughed. “That was fun, but that’s the way to interact and get him to lighten up a little bit.”
After shopping, the kids and the law enforcement officers got to wrap the gifts.
“We always have bags and boxes for the guys because it always makes it a little bit easier for them to wrap gifts. Otherwise, it would take them a very long time,” Covert laughed.
She added, “It’s nice to watch the interaction with all of them. The (kids are) so nice (and) grateful to be around the officers, and even the officers enjoy helping.”
