The location: Atlantis Avenue, headed northeast in Stafford Township. The time and date: 4:34 p.m. on Dec. 7. Peering out from the back seat of a police cruiser, the window half open, he searched for somebody, anybody, who might give him a welcoming nod, a high-five, a thumbs up, maybe even a hug.

Green with envy yet clad in a cheery red suit and hat, his long, hairy fingers gripping the top of the window, he glared toward the sidewalk in front of each home the police cruiser passed, hoping…