Santa’s arrival well protected

REDMOND – Forget that old sleigh, and the reindeer, too.

This year, Santa rode shotgun in a police SWAT team’s V150 armored personnel carrier to deliver presents to several needy families.

Teaming up with the men and women in blue, the fat man in red waved at passersby Thursday, as the tanklike vehicle decked in lights and bows rolled through town.

Its giant wheels barely missed the curb as it pulled into a parking lot, where kids inside one apartment ran up to a window to gawk at the tree-topped spectacle.

Santa, played by Officer Jeff Swanson, and two elves, Cmdr. Ed Billington and Officer Greg Twentey, carried wrapped presents inside the apartment, where 7-year-old Ben and 3-year-old Leo greeted them gleefully.

Flanked by the elves, Santa sat down and said, “We’ve got more gifts out in my power sleigh.” Then in came another elf with a royal blue bike on training wheels for Ben and a red and yellow tricycle for Leo.

“I had an early Christmas,” Ben said a few minutes later as he took his new bike for a spin.

Minutes later, Santa and the elves hopped back in the V150, gingerly backing out of the parking lot.

“We are very grateful,” the boys’ mother said. “Our kids are going to have a special Christmas thanks to this. I could never have afforded this.”

Redmond Police Department employees donated about $2,500 worth of gifts to five families – everything from Barbie dolls for the kids to a George Foreman grill and gas card for one mother.

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