BALTIMORE — Jordan and Officer Smith are on a big mission this holiday season, “Shopping!”  They’re just one out of over 100 officer-kid duos shopping with the Baltimore County Police Department’s annual Shop With a Cop event. 

“It’s a great opportunity to give back to the community and connect with the young people,” said Officer Smith.

Together they fill carts with gifts for loved ones all while breaking down barriers and making memories. 

“The next trip is to find things that he wants to get for his family, which is a positive thing for a young man to think, and move on,” said Officer Smith, who works with the Baltimore County Police Department. 

During the event, Jordan told WJZ Reporter Janay Reece that he had already bought “…some toy guns, a Harry Potter plushie for one of my aunts, and a leaky box, mystery box.”

23 years in the making

“I’m glad that I can still be a part of it, even though I’m retired,”  said retired Baltimore County officer Michael Schmitz Sr.

Schmitz helped start Shop with a Cop 23 years ago. At the time, he facilitated getting the idea approved and raised $2,500 to take 25 underprivileged children to a Walmart located in Cockeysville to shop for the holidays. 

“Then the following year, the Optimist Club got involved, and they said, we’ll raise the money. We just want 100 kids. I was able to get 100 kids, 100 officers, and it just rolled from there,” said Schmitz.

The following year, the Optimist Club partnered with Baltimore County and donated $10,000 to give each child $100 to shop at Walmart.  From there, the program blossomed into what it is today. 

“23 years with 100 kids a year. That’s a lot of kids,” said Schmitz.

Hunt Valley Mission BBQ catered breakfast for all participants, and the Youth and Community Services Unit within the police department also raffled off a brand-new bike. 

Janay Reece

Janay Reece came back home to Baltimore to join WJZ in August 2023. Before coming back to the Charm City, Janay was a morning anchor and reporter for WDBJ7 in Roanoke, VA. She joined the WDBJ7 morning team after spending a year as a multimedia journalist in the New River Valley for the station.