Police give a happy Thanksgiving to needy families

Philadelphia police raised $11,000 this year to fill baskets with turkeys and other Thanksgiving trimmings for 400 families.

The baskets will be given to needy families identified by the department's community relations officers. Officers and civilian employees each donated $3 to support the department's annual Operation Thanksgiving tradition, which started in 1969.

Patrol officers, special-unit members and top brass, including Commissioner Charles Ramsey, are gathering in front of the Roundhouse (police headquarters at  8th and Race streets in Center City) this morning to sort and fill the baskets, load them into patrol vans and deliver them.

"We want citizens to understand that the Police Department is not just there to arrest people," said Community Relations Officer David Jones, an organizer. "We also live in these communities and are always looking for ways to give back."