Deputies spread holiday cheer during traffic stops

By Bobby Radford

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     ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Missouri (Daily Journal) — Deputies with the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department brightened the holidays for several unsuspecting area motorists on Christmas Eve.

In the rush to finish last-minute Christmas shopping and preparations for the holiday, the last thing a driver wants to see in their rear-view mirror is red and blue flashing lights, unless they’re being pulled over by deputies handing out gift cards, of course.

The St. Francois County deputies working the evening shift on Christmas Eve decided to pool their money together and purchase Walmart gift cards to hand out to drivers in the community.

“It was almost one of those spontaneous things,” said K9 Deputy Alex Shumate. “We all got together and thought, ‘let’s do something to give back to the community that supports us.'”

Shumate explained that they had initially gathered together $150 of their own money for gift cards to give out during surprise traffic stops. He said that while they were looking around at which cards to purchase, a citizen approached them inquiring what they were doing.

After hearing the deputies’ plans, the generous person gave them an additional $250 to use in spreading Christmas cheer.

“[That] was phenomenal,” Shumate said of the kind and random donation. “We were beside ourselves.”

Deputy Luke Nickelson recalled the secret Santa’s donation as they were browsing for ideas at Walgreens.

“We told her what we were doing, and we said, ‘hey, if you were to get pulled over, what would you like,” said Nickelson. “She’s like, ‘you know what? Here’s what I would like;’ She pulls $250 out of her wallet, hands it to us, and says go to Walmart and get more gift cards.”

The woman then thanked the deputies for everything they were doing before they set out to surprise people.

Ultimately, the deputies were able to give out 40 $10 Walmart gift cards. Along with the gift cards, the deputies gave children in the stopped vehicles stuffed animals donated by another generous person, as well as coloring books and “Back the Blue” bracelets.

“We stopped some cars, and a couple of them just about started to cry,” Nichelson said. “Small gestures go a long way, and the people definitely appreciated it.

“It’s just something we enjoy doing,” he added. “It kind of gives us a little break from actually dealing with criminals; being able to go out and help make someone’s day just a little bit better.”

The surprise gifts were a blessing to many families just in time for Christmas, as Deputy Ryne Scherffius explained.

“There were some people, one lady, in particular, we stopped. I could tell they were a little less fortunate and could tell it really meant a lot to them,” said Scherffius. “The lady started tearing up; her and daughters both did. So I gave them several of the gift cards, actually.”

Scherffius said it felt great to show the people they stopped that others care about them whether they know them or not.

Deputy Devin Bainbridge said he found the experience to be quite rewarding.

“It was a cool experience,” he said. “We stopped several vehicles with parents that had five or six kids.

“Just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces was awesome,” Bainbridge recalled. “It’s a good thing for our community, especially the way that cops are being seen nowadays.”

Those same sentiments were shared by Deputy Josh Hall.

“I found it extremely rewarding to be able to give back to the community and spread a little holiday cheer while we were at it,” said Hall.

All five deputies involved in the surprise Christmas Eve stops said they plan to do it again each year going forward, and maybe even multiple times during the year if possible.

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