By BRAD BAUGHMAN, for The Democrat

Local law enforcement officers and Brown County Schools personnel laced up their sneakers and met on the hardwood Nov. 30 in the Larry C. Banks Memorial Gymnasium.

The game, billed as “Cops vs. Teachers,” was a fundraiser for the Shop With a Cop program.

After an evenly played first half, the teachers outscored the cops 19-5 in the third quarter and went on to win, 57-34.

The real winners, however, will be local children who will benefit from the donations taken in at the game that are earmarked for their annual pre-Christmas shopping trip with Brown County police officers.

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Spearheaded by Deputy Kyle Minor, with assistance from Det. Brian Shrader and Brown County High School Athletic Director Mark Bruner, the game raised $1,010.73 for the Shop With a Cop fund.

“We are supplying the facility. We’ve got concessions open through boosters. We are going to donate through boosters back to the organization (Shop With a Cop) as well,” Bruner said.

Shrader was excited about the prospects of putting more money into the program, because more kids will benefit. “We are going to take around 60 kids this year, which is an increase from the last couple years.”

Not only will more local children be participating, more money raised means more money to spend on each child.

Minor said there is more than just money and gifts involved, though. About the shopping experience, he said, “ They (the kids) get to know us on a personal level, and we get to know them. They get to know they can trust us, and they get a chance to hang out with us.”

Although this year’s game was organized on short notice, the hope is for it to become an annual event, with expectations for even bigger and better things.

“We are hoping it gets bigger and we get more people out playing, maybe have more teams involved,” said Deputy Colton Edens-Magner after the game.