Deputies Ban Guns From Holiday Toy Drive
LOS ANGELES COUNTY — There are a few train sets, several dozen Barbies and more than a hundred stuffed animals. But there’s one item missing this year from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department toy drive: guns.
Worried that a toy gun may someday be mistaken for the real thing, sheriff’s deputies are refusing to hand out the plastic weapons. Even squirt guns are banned from the department’s massive stack of goodies, which will be distributed today to dozens of Los Angeles County organizations.
Deputies Harry Van and J. Isaac Gonzalez--who coordinated the toy drive--have carefully stowed away the banned toys in a storage room at the old Biscailuz jail.
“Every kid wants a cowboy set,” said Van. “But do we want to be the one to hand those things out? It sends a mixed message.”
Over the last 10 years, the Sheriff’s Department has given away hundreds of toys to organizations dedicated to helping area children. This year, deputies are giving away 20,000 items. Representatives from 170 organizations are expected to collect the toys at the sheriff’s headquarters this afternoon.
People who still want to make a donation may either drop off a new, unwrapped toy at any sheriff’s station or send a check to the Sheriff’s Relief Fund No. 273, 11515 S. Colima Road, Whittier, CA 90603.
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