Sgt. Franco Cesar, a police sergeant with the Fairfield Police Department, described the department's Shop with a Cop program, which pairs selected children from the department's PAL program with Fairfield officers and Walmart employees for supervised shopping events where participants choose limited purchases and families receive donated gift cards.

Cesar said the Fairfield PAL program selects children for the event based on attendance and participation. "Fairfield PAL selects some of the kids that go to the program. Depends on their attendance, how they're doing in the program, and those selected are invited to a Shop with a Cop event at Walmart," he said. The children are paired with a Walmart employee and a Fairfield police employee during the outing, he said.

The program has two stated goals, Cesar said: provide material support to underprivileged children and create constructive interactions between youth and law enforcement. "I'm hoping the kids take away that obviously law enforcement is there to assist them, to help them out, and we're not just there to arrest people," he said. Cesar added that officers use the time to learn about the children's interests and family circumstances while helping them choose items.

Cesar described some operational details: there is a limit on what each child can purchase, parents receive a donated gift card at the end of the event, and the PAL program currently operates from a building on North Texas Street. He said volunteers and instructors are always needed to run PAL activities and that the program relies on community donations. "We're always looking for volunteers, to keep the program going. We need that support from the community," Cesar said.

Cesar characterized the event as mutually positive for officers and families: officers see youth in a different light and children experience police officers as helpers. He said the program aims to leave a lasting positive impression on participating children that may influence their future choices.

Fairfield PAL, the Fairfield Police Department and Walmart were named in Cesar's remarks; no formal motions, votes or policy decisions were recorded in the transcript.