Police in Mount Dora have a new, cuddly tool to help kids at crime scenes.

  • 26 comfort bears to be added to police patrol cars
  • Bears were hand-stitched from old uniforms

Twenty-six "comfort bears" will go into police patrol cars this weekend. 

Volunteers spent 200 hours hand-stitching the 26 bears from old police uniforms.

"We had a lot of uniforms that are no longer serviceable," Police Chief John O'Grady said. "We have wonderful volunteers here in Mount Dora. So I approached a couple of the volunteers, and they jumped all over it."

The bears will be there to help officers who respond to crimes ranging from domestic violence to child abuse.

O'Grady said he got the idea from a former employee who found the bear at their home and sent it to him. O'Grady says the comfort bears were used back in the 90s to help children.