By Police1 Staff
Lending a helping hand is part of the job for officers of the law — but their daily good deeds rarely make headlines. With our new series, we aim to bring some much-deserved attention to the little things our officers do for our communities every day. Check out this week’s round-up of inspiring stories from around the country.
8-year-old fighting cancer becomes honorary Idaho cop
#OfficerRashid brings The Hammer back to where it belongs! pic.twitter.com/k4ennDwaVC
— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) August 21, 2015
BOISE, Idaho — 8-year-old Rashid helped Boise police solve crimes for a day, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Rashid, who arrived with his family from Iraq six years ago, is battling a rare form of cancer. After attending a camp and expressing his deepest desire to become a police officer and fight crime, the department created the officer-for-a-day event.
Rashid helped find the Boise State football team’s missing hammer — a symbolic accolade they carry every game — and returned it just before kickoff. Police rewarded him with a sundae for a hard day’s work.
Female cops tell Ore. girl she can be cop too
PORTLAND, Ore. — When 4-year-old Kinley Goertler fell in love with a police officer Halloween costume, she was disappointed that only a picture of a boy was featured on the packaging, KPTV reported.
When Kinley’s mother, Chelsy, noticed her daughter’s reaction, she immediately wrote about it on Facebook, prompting a response from one of her Facebook friends at the Portland Police Bureau. Officer Raelynn McKay rounded up other female officers and snapped a picture for Kinley with a sign that read, “Kinley, girl cops are awesome!”
This set off a viral trend of female officers posing with a message for Kinley, Chelsy told Police1 in an email.Kinley has received responses from 15 different states so far.
“To say she [Kinley] feels special is an absolute understatement,” Goertler wrote. “All she can keep saying is how much she loves police officers and keeps asking me if we can hug them all.”
Ariz. police rescue puppy from drain
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Police serving a drug-related search warrant at a Phoenix home found themselves part of a 10-hour rescue effort to free a puppy trapped in a sewage pipe, Associated Press reported.
Authorities say officers went to the home Thursday morning and found a very young puppy alive but stuck in an open pipe that went under the home. They also found an adult female dog and two dead puppies, all believed to be strays. Authorities say a plumbing company’s camera pinpointed the pup’s location, and rescuers pulled out the shaking animal around 10:30 p.m.
Arizona Humane Society officials monitored the dog during the entire rescue and estimated the puppy, a pit bull terrier mix, was between 1 and 2 weeks old.
The puppy is receiving medical care at a local animal hospital.
Md. cop buys homeless mother, daughter hotel room
HYATTSVILLE, Md. — Corporal Che Atkinson is being celebrated after his act of kindness was posted online, WUSA9 reported.
While working on Aug. 26, Atkinson encountered a homeless woman with her child. Both had just escaped an abusive environment, were out of options for shelter and seeking help from the police. After the officer called for assistance from a social worker, he headed out on patrol. When he returned the next morning, the woman was still sitting in the exact spot he left her.
Atkinson decided to use his own money for food and a hotel room for the woman and her child. When photos praising the officer were posted on the department’s Facebook, they went viral. As of this writing, the post has over 16,000 likes.
“I’m a little overwhelmed and shocked,” ” Atkinson told the news site. “And the reason why is it didn’t seem like a big deal to me because I see other officers do stuff like this all the time.”
Mo. cop takes murder victim’s son back-to-school shopping
ST LOUIS, Mo. — After a 5-year-old boy witnessed his mother’s murder last month, a St. Louis County police officer and his wife decided to take him back-to-school shopping, KMOV reported.
The boy, Jakeem, was in the backseat of a car when his mother Whitney Brown, 24, died from shots fired into the vehicle.
The officer and his wife want to remain anonymous. They took Jakeem shopping for school supplies and bought him green sneakers, shirts and jackets. Green was his mother’s favorite color.
“You don’t find too many people who would be willing to help somebody going through tragedy,” Jakeem’s grandmother, Erica Jones, told the publication. “His gesture of kindness and gratitude that he showed to my grandson speaks volumes.”