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Ride to school leads GRPD officer to boy’s birthday party

Posted at 2:00 PM, Apr 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-03 14:54:20-04

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids police officer had to call in backup after going to a 9-year-old boy’s birthday party.

Officer Austin Lynema saw Thomas Daniel chasing after a school bus one morning and offered to give him a ride when it didn’t stop for him.

With the boy’s mother’s permission, Lynema took him to school and got to talk with him during the commute. Thomas told him that it was his ninth birthday and invited him to come to his birthday party after school.

Thomas also told the officer that he was afraid nobody from his class would come to his party because he gets bullied at school.

Lynema was able to make it to the party, but the boy’s fear came true and nobody other than Lynema and Thomas’ siblings came. The next day, he brought some backup: surprising the boy with a second party with a Krispy Kreme donut cake, presents and a singing quartet.