A pair of South Florida deputies brightened the day of a teen who was lamenting the loss of his bicycle and still grieving after the death of his father two years ago.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, deputies Jose Claudio and James Murphy delivered a bicycle to the 13-year-old boy earlier this month, the Miami Herald reported.
The boy, identified only as Ernesto, had his bicycle stolen, the sheriff’s office said. The boy had the additional burden of losing his father, Leonel, who died in June 2020.
On August 2nd, we responded to Ernesto‘s home because he was depressed over the loss of his father and his stolen bike. So Deputy Claudio and Deputy Murphy pitched in from their own funds to buy Ernesto the bicycles of all bicycle, a wide tire Monster Ripper! His face…priceless. pic.twitter.com/V4fxHnMDiq
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) August 12, 2022
The two deputies pooled their money and bought Ernesto a wide-tire Monster Ripper, according to the Twitter post. A video recorded the boy’s reaction when the deputies visited his home on Aug. 2.
“His face … priceless,” the sheriff’s office said.
“He is a friend of my son’s. I’m glad you guys are showing these kids that there is still kindness in this world,” Crystal Smith McIntosh wrote on the sheriff’s office’s Facebook post.
The boy’s mother, Niuri Perez, also thanked deputies, according to the Herald. She has two other children, ages 30 and 25, and four grandchildren, so buying a new bicycle would have been difficult.
“I’m thankful of how the police saw and felt there is a big heart broken inside of a boy, 13 years old,” Perez told the newspaper. “This was a beautiful action from the police we can never forget.”
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