Newark police have special teddy bears made to comfort children – NBC10 Philadelphia

“The caller ID shows 'Newark Police' and I immediately think, oh God, what have I done?” said Robin Broomall.

But it wasn't the kind of call she expected. Instead of her being in trouble, the Newark Police Department wanted her help.

A police officer had the idea of ​​making teddy bears from his department's used uniforms to give to children in difficult situations. He knew that in order to put his idea into practice, he needed the best bear maker in his city.

“I knew that Robin was making teddy bears and giving them to an orphanage in Ukraine, and that she was organizing an effort to do so. When I saw her doing that, I realized the bears might work, but there was no way I was going to figure out how to sew one of those things,” said Newark Police Lt. Gregory D'Elia.

Broomal got to work, first making a few prototypes and then producing 30 bears every hour and a half.

“She's a one-person show, she does everything by herself and it takes time, it's labor intensive. Each individual bear is made with a lot of material and a lot of care,” said Lt. D'Elia.

And now these bears have a special mission: to provide comfort to children.

“Even as adults, we immediately get tense when you call the police,” Broomall said. “If we can help young children overcome that tension by simply calming and comforting them, that's the most important thing.”

The idea is that when police officers go to a scene and they see someone in their worst situation, sometimes there are children there who witness it. The bears are meant to give them some comfort.

D'Elia has two children and said he would want a police officer to help his children in a tense situation.

“Give them that level of security and give them something they can relate to and let them know the police are there. Our patch on the front of this bear lets them know that,” he said.

The bears have now become an integral part of the toolbox of police patrol cars.

“As long as they keep sending me shirts, I can keep making bears,” Broomall said.