Toys Piling Up Thanks To ‘Tickets For Tots' Program

Sansom Park police's "tickets for tots" program gives an unexpected new meaning to the long arm of the law.

While police have been giving warning tickets to some drivers they pull over in the North Texas suburb and encouraging them to drop off a $10 toy at the police station, people from around the country have gotten into the giving act.

Boxes of toys from as far away as New York, Iowa, Tennessee and Maryland have been sent to the police station by people who saw news reports about the program. Some people sent money and others sent letters of thank you.

There were so many toys, police had to move the donations to the fire department next door.

"We were enthused and amazed. It touched our hearts because we have a lot of kids who without this will not have a Christmas at all," Sansom Park Police Chief Tony White told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT.

"It was just shocking because we are such a small town," said Capt. Shelby Brock with the Sansom Park Fire Department.

They've also had requests from police departments around the country looking for help setting up a similar program.

Officers will continue writing "tickets for tots" until Dec. 24. Officers and firefighters say the toys will be distributed starting next week. Sansom Park police's "tickets for tots" program gives an unexpected new meaning to the long arm of the law.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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