Turkeys Get Police Escort To Pittsburgh Area Community Food Bank
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Allegheny County Sheriff's Deputies were called to the Walmart Supercenter, where they were spotted loading boxes into their vehicles.
Employees appeared to be cooperative. Sheriff's Deputy Jason Tarap had background on the developing situation.
"We have 200 turkeys in custody right now. We have them in holding over here at Walmart," he said.
The store in North Fayette donated the frozen turkeys to the Pittsburgh Area Food Bank.
"We're just glad to help today," said Walmart spokeswoman Karen Kallam. "It'll be an exciting day. We're just going to load up some turkeys, and hopefully some families in need are going to have a good Thanksgiving dinner."
The deputies were forced to call for backup - a total of six vehicles.
"Four-thousand pounds," Deputy Tarap said. "That's a lot of weight for one vehicle. So the sheriff has ordered out as many vehicles as we can to make sure that the dispersal of the weight, and to get the turkeys down to the Food Bank."
It's a change of pace for deputies, accustomed to transporting prisoners. These turkeys don't talk back.
Minutes later, the Pittsburgh Area Community Food Bank was surrounded. In addition to transporting the birds, the Allegheny County Deputy Sheriff's Association has donated $1,000 to the KDKA-TV Turkey Fund, which supports local families in need.
"It never ceases to amaze us that when the call goes out every year to help those in need, that the people at KDKA and their viewers respond tremendously," says Food Bank spokesman Ron Cichowicz.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, turkeys are always on the "Most Wanted" list.
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