TEMPE, Ariz. – Police officers in Arizona surprised a 4-year-old boy with a new toy gator tractor after his own battery-operated vehicle was stolen from his home earlier this month.
According to the Tempe Police Department, Peter Philbrook posted in a Facebook group about his son’s gator tractor, which had been stolen from the family’s home at an apartment complex, KNXV reported.
Philbrook said he and his son, Gerald Philbrook, had bonded over it, and the dad was willing to sell whatever he could to come up with the reward money.
According to a Facebook post by the Tempe Police Department, the wife of patrol Sgt. Andrew Brooks saw the post and shared it with her husband. The officer enlisted the help of fellow officers and tried to find the vehicle. When efforts proved fruitless, Brooks received some financial support from an area Walmart and the Tempe Officers Association to buy the boy some new wheels.
Officers gave Gerald the gator tractor and posted a video about it Saturday.
Brooks presented Gerald with a new metal license plate that displayed his name, and also gave him a peace sign sticker.
“Thank you,” the boy said. “This is … whoa. This is exactly like the other one, and it’s not even a little one.
“This is exactly cooler than my other one. Wow.”
“The video does not fully convey the abundance of joy, kindness and gratitude those present felt at that moment,” officials said in a statement provided to KSAZ.
