EXCHANGE: Peoria police officer hands out stuffed animals

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - Ask Peoria police Officer Curtis Lindsay why he goes out of his way to give teddy bears to young children, and he'll come back with a simple reason.

"You just do. There is no rhyme or reasoning. You just do. Some things you just do," said the 25-year veteran of the department.

For more than a year, Lindsay, a Peoria native and a former police officer with Peoria Public Schools, has passed out dozens of bears to area children. He did it with no fanfare and didn't really want to have a reporter tag along as he was driving the police transport wagon on Thursday. But he also admits it's an important thing to brighten a child's day, even if only for a few minutes.

The bears are donated, he said, and come with a patch from the Peoria Police Department. It's the bear's "badge," he joked.

Lindsay started passing the bears out a year or so ago. Prior to that, he did other things to help children but didn't want to attract any attention for doing so, muting any discussion of his actions.

But the bears were in the station last year after a toy drive. He saw them and thought to grab a few to pass out. One thing led to another, and he started implementing the practice more and more. He would hand a bear to children who were out and about, or whose parents were in trouble with the law. Either way, he said, it was a chance to see the department in a different light.

"Did you see his face?" he asked, smiling, minutes after he gave two brothers, 3 and 5, the bears. The two boys, whose aunt lives in River West, were at first a bit apprehensive when Lindsay stopped the large van in front of their home.

As they stood on the front porch with their grandmother, Lindsay looked at the woman, saw things were OK and walked over to the boys with the bears. Any fear they had vanished, and the two boys proudly hugged the bears and told anyone who walked and rode a bike by that they got a police bear. The older brother tried to tell Lindsay that his younger brother was too small for a police bear, but the officer winked at the grandmother and said he could be an officer for a day.

And 20 minutes later, it was nap time for the two boys. Of course, they didn't want to lay down but were ordered back into the house by the grandmother. Both still tightly clutched the bears. The grandmother said she thought such a gesture was a good start to helping community relations.

A few houses down, Lindsay struck again. This time a 3-year-old girl was the beneficiary of a bear. The girl wasn't as vocal as the boys, but her aunt, who was watching her, said such actions are good for children to view police officers through a different prism.

Lindsey, whose career will conclude in a week when he retires, is under no illusion that he's changing the community's perception of the department. But that's not his goal.

"Long term, who knows what this is going to do?" Lindsay said. "But in the short term, it means everything."

Interim Peoria police Chief Loren Marion also is a firm believer in the idea.

"Officer Lindsay exemplifies what it is to be a community police officer. A teddy bear can brighten a child's day and perhaps even effect a lasting positive memory for life. Not to mention, the effect this gesture has on the officer - there is nothing more innocent than a small child, and what a privilege it is to see him or her smile," the chief said.

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Source: (Peoria) Journal Star, https://bit.ly/2vdyQMK

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Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com