MOSES LAKE — Why yes, those were law enforcement officers cleaning tables and filling water glasses at the Rock Top restaurant Thursday night. The restaurant teamed up with the Moses Lake Police Department and Grant County Sheriff’s Office for “Tip A Cop” night, with proceeds going to the “Shop With a Cop” program sponsored by those agencies.

On “Shop With a Cop” night, kids who qualify team up with local law enforcement to go Christmas shopping for their families.

“We’ve been doing this for several years now,” said Dave Sands, captain with the MLPD. Rock Top marketing coordinator Lindsey Frey said the idea came from a conversation with the restaurant manager.

“We knew we wanted to do something” for the Christmas season, Frey said. She talked with MLPD chief Kevin Fuhr, looking for ideas, and the Shop With a Cop program was one of the possibilities. “We kind of knew the takeaway from that,” how it worked, and decided to host an event to raise money for it.

The restaurant staff donated their tips. “It’s a big team effort,” Frey said. Restaurant patrons added extra donations. Sands said he received a donation from a woman as he walked in for his shift; she wasn’t there for dinner but just wanted to donate. “Pretty awesome to see so many generous people,” Sands said.

For two hours Thursday night, law enforcement officers took food and drink orders, topped off those water glasses, delivered drinks from the bar, cleaned and wiped off the tables. They handed out balloons to the overflow crowd.

So – how did it go, with the cops supplementing the wait staff, in a restaurant so busy customers were flowing out the door? “Several major mishaps,” joked Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones. “It’s not good.” Sands said it was a good thing the Rock Top crew was skilled and patient. Actually, things moved pretty smoothly, with no dropped trays and not even a spilled water glass.

The local “Shop With a Cop” program teams up children in need with law enforcement officers for an evening of Christmas shopping. This is the sixth year the sheriff’s office and MLPD have partnered on the program.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].