Police arm themselves with teddy bears

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) - It’s one of the hardest jobs for a police officer: connecting with a child who has been abused. 
        
Monday, the Fishers Police Department announced it’s teaming up with a group that gives officers teddy bears to hand out to kids after a traumatic event. 

What began as a school project for eighth-grader Isabella Bucklew has grown into so much more.   

“I was looking for an organization that helps children of domestic violence and while I was looking for an organization I found the Bears in Blue,” Isabella said.

The Bears in Blue foundation supplies police officers with teddy bears to give to children after a traumatic event, including abuse, neglect, abandonment and domestic violence.  

Isabella says she wanted to go beyond the bear. She had the idea for police to give out journals to kids who may be too old for a teddy bear — a move that got the attention of Bears in Blue and the Fishers Police Department.  .   

“It’s not just about bears and journals. Itss about a citizen who has taken a proactive approach to making her community a better place to live,” said Fishers police officer Tom Weger.

The Fishers Police Department is one of 24 police agencies that participates in the Bears in Blue Foundation. They hope the little bears will help them gain the trust of a child suffering from abuse  

“We see traumatic situations all the time and anytime it involves a kid that is worst case scenario, so anything that we can provide them to help us do our job more effectively, we will want to put that in place,” Weger said. 

The Bears and Isabella's Journal will be given to patrol officers, who are the first to come in contact with children in crisis.