SCRANTON, Pa. — If it's going into the back of a cop car, normally, it's bad news.
But on Tuesday, officers from the Scranton Police Department weren't looking to hand out tickets.
Just a smile and a bit of warmth for the cold months ahead.
"Thank you so much for the winter coat. Thank you so much for the socks, hats, and gloves that you give us. So it was really, really very nice. That's really the, the best part of it, I guess," said Melissa McCafferty.
For more than a decade she's worked with officers at the department to hand out thousands of dollars in donated apparel to those in need.
"I have friends that work in the school district, and of course, we have the officers that are hands-on with the children too, and they just see the need, how, how great the need is in Scranton," said McCafferty. "We want to put a winter coat on as many children's backs as we can."
"Well, it's nice. It's just nice to do something for the community outside of normal everyday police work," said Scranton Police Lieutenant Michael Perry.
Officers with cruisers filled with cozy coats spent the morning at schools throughout the district.
One stop was at Frances Willard Elementary where staff say more than a 3rd of it's students are economically disadvantaged.
"Our families, some of them struggle to provide basic necessities. So these colds will be a huge relief knowing that their students will be kept warm throughout the winter," said Shannon Rucker, principal of Frances Willard Elementary.
Just another way they can protect and serve.
"We can't thank the Scranton Police Department enough for all that they do for our city and our schools," said Rucker. "We're just so grateful to, to get this donation and I can't, I'm very excited to share it with the kids."