POMONA >> After Pomona police officers learned a 12-year-old had his fixer-upper bicycle stolen over the weekend, they got together to buy the boy a new bike.
“He said a lady in the neighborhood gave it to him and he’d been fixing it up,” said Officer Austin Dossey on Monday. “He had it all sanded down and was getting ready to give it a new paint job.”
As Dossey spoke to the boy, who called police himself Sunday afternoon, the two-year Pomona police veteran said it was obvious the bicycle meant a lot.
“You could tell it was his pride and joy, and he was really upset it was stolen,” he said.
Dossey listened to the boy as he told the officer he had left the bike at a friend’s home near Columbia and West Thomspon streets and that some time between Saturday night and Sunday morning, someone took the bike from the side of house. With each detail, Dossey watched the boy become more distressed.
As soon as the officer was done speaking to the boy, he got onto his in-car computer and sent out a message: Anyone willing to help buy this boy a replacement bike? The response from his fellow officers was almost immediate.
“In 20 minutes, I had a sergeant, a corporal and six other officers willing to pitch in for the bike,” Dossey said.
Money in hand, the officers walked into Bobby’s Bike Shop, 445 Garey Ave., and bought a brand new fixie bike for the boy.
“He was so stoked,” smiled Dossey. “He just kept saying, ‘Thank you. Thank you.’ It was really great.”
For Dossey, the decision to buy the boy a new bike was an easy one, he said.
“This was a kid, and it was the only bike he had,” said Dossey. “It was just the right thing to do. I hope he remembers this and realizes that there are more good cops out there that really care about the community and the people who live in it.”
By Beatriz Valenzuela, San Bernardino Sun
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