LA MESA -- Almost every day police officers spend much of their shifts dealing with La Mesans at their worst.

Crime, family fights, thefts and burglaries. Anger is a constant in one form or another. Danger too. Despite the romance in which TV shows bathe such work, one of the real challenges in managing a police force is to find ways to give officers a regular positive reminder of who they serve and why.

So on Thursday morning, for the 18th year in a row, La Mesa Police Captain Dan Willis, gathered up presents purchased with more than $1,000 dollars donated by his fellow officers. See full story and photos on La Mesa Today