Waukegan police officer Andrew Orozco got in his squad car in late May with his stuffed companion — a capybara — for the annual Toy Ride Along done in partnership with the Waukegan Park District. His K-9 partner, Tango, showed surprise at seeing a four-legged capybara.
Sgt. Alejos Villalobos of the Waukegan Police Department, who helped organize the program, said Tango did not appear to show jealousy when encountering the capybara. It was a different type of week for the three of them.
“It looks like they got along well,” Villalobos said. “The officers enjoy the week.”
The Waukegan Park District and Waukegan Police Department partnered for the sixth-annual Toy Ride Along in May, adopting a child’s toy for a week and returning it with pictures and more as mementos of the experience.
Jonathon Cochrane, a recreation specialist with the Park District, said children pick one of their toys for the experience, bring it to the Field House Sports Fitness & Aquatics Center, register it and leave it there for transportation to the police station.
Cochrane said eight children brought toys this year. Since the program’s inception, 78 playthings have ridden around the city with police officers. When done, the police return the toy to the Park District with a package for each child.
“This is good collaboration between the Park District and the police department,” Cochrane said. “We enjoy doing this program each year, and the kids really like it. They’re happy and excited when it comes back. It’s a joyful experience for them”
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Villalobos said the toy is accompanied by a goodie bag for the youngsters with a letter from the officer telling them what the toy encountered, pictures and a variety of souvenirs like stickers, books and crayons.
With officers who participated in the Toy Ride Along program in the past eager to do it again, Villalobos said the canine unit, the patrol division, neighborhood policing, the community crimes division, the chief’s office, the criminal investigation division and the community outreach group have taken part.
As part of the neighborhood policing division, Villalobos took the Pikachu doll into his custody for a ride on the beach in one of the department’s Utility Terrain Vehicles. It is a place the division normally patrols.
“We enjoyed some time down at the beach,” Villalobos said. “People saw us. They smiled and waved. They saw the doll, and kids waved to it. This was a good way to engage with kids at the beach.”
Started in 2021 during the COVID pandemic, Villalobos said children and their families were spending most of their time at home. The Park District had very limited activities because of social distancing at the time. Police and Park District officials collaborated to create the Toy Ride Along.
For the police, Villalobos said the event is also an opportunity to develop positive relationships with children and their parents. The letter accompanying the pictures and goodie bag is a personal one from officer to child.
“Pen pal situations could start,” Villalobos said. “They put the letter in the goodie bag and sign it. This is a way to create a positive image. This is a bridge to see the officer as an everyday person.”