Police officers give gifts to children of murdered parents

KANSAS CITY, MO - Kansas City Police -- on a mission to make Christmas a little brighter for children impacted by violent crime.

The police department hosted a special Christmas party Saturday.

All of the kids at the event had one thing in common.

Every single one has lost a parent to murder.

Some of them even witnessed the crime, including kids like the Fords, whose dad was shot execution style in an early morning home invasion back in 2013.

The children's grandmother is now caring for them and wondered how she would make Christmas special this year.

So to help families like this one, the Kansas City Police teamed up with the Healing Pathway Victim Service Agency and gave out bikes, tablets, and clothes.

Timiah Ford, spoke of her father, "I miss seeing him every day."

Sharlene Ford, the man's father said, "We miss him a lot."

"It meant that people really care for us and stuff," Timothy Ford Jr., Ford's son, said.

Monica Roberts from Healing Pathway Victim Service Agency said, "This is a group of children that have experienced tragedy on a level that most adults could not handle."

"It feels good because some people that I'm around, they don't really know what I've been through, they can't relate. But these kids they can," Timiah Ford said.