Help From Police, Fire Departments

I live near Rampart Boulevard and 6th Street. An 11-year-old neighbor, Ariana, got three presents for Christmas, of which her favorite was a notebook collection of Pokemon trading cards. She and my 3-year-old were playing. My little boy, Daniel, wanted to come home, and in the time she took to walk him safely back to our door, her Pokemon cards were gone! She and her mother recently moved here from a homeless shelter. The child was absolutely distraught. Her mother became so concerned she called the paramedics.

The LAPD and Fire Department responded almost immediately. Two of the policemen tactfully knocked on doors and were able to recover most of the cards. The sergeant promised Ariana he would replace the missing notebook. Three firefighters returned shortly thereafter with bags of toys and clothes. They stayed for almost an hour working with the kids and offered a tour of the fire station and a ride on the fire engine! Just as an added note, Ariana and Daniel split their holiday take and even dipped into some of their own toys to give to other children in our building. No Grinch here, this Christmas!

NINA SAVINO

Los Angeles

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Last week an off-duty LAPD policeman witnessed my parked car being hit by a 18-wheeler. When he realized that the driver did not intend to leave me a note indicating his responsibility for the accident and because he was out of the jurisdiction of the LAPD, the young man began searching for the owner of the car (me) in the adjacent stores. Although the damage was minor and his children were waiting to be picked up, he spent the next hour being involved in a situation many would have chosen to ignore.

When I asked him for the name of his supervisor so that I could inform him of this man’s great integrity, he explained that it wasn’t necessary to do so and that “it was just the principle of the situation that mattered.”

ELLEN REDDINGIUS

Rolling Hills Estates