Losing a teddy bear may not be the kind of emergency that is typically handled by the police – but when an anxious boy with autism dialed 911 for help finding his missing stuffed animal, this compassionate police officer didn’t hesitate to respond.
Earlier this week, 12-year-old Ryan Paul was frantically searching through his home in Woodbridge, New Jersey in hopes of finding his teddy bear.
When he couldn’t find the toy, he remembered how his parents had told him that he should dial 911 in case of emergencies. Ryan then called the police dispatcher and said: “The teddy bear fell down again. Don’t worry, I’ll rescue you. Goodbye again, see you again.”
Ryan hung up before the dispatcher could respond, and since protocol demands they send an officer for terminated phone calls, Officer Khari Manzini arrived at the boy’s house shortly afterwards.
As it turns out, Manzini was just the man for the job. Using the specialized training that he received from the POAC Autism Services on dealing with special needs citizens, he was able to work with Ryan and figure out the motivation behind his call.
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Manzini then joined the search for the teddy bear until he finally managed to uncover the missing teddy bear – and Ryan was delighted.
“Ryan was very happy to see me,” Manzini told News 12 New Jersey. “And I was actually happy to see him happy and that we had gotten the teddy bear back.”
Though Ryan’s parents say that they now plan on teaching their son about which emergencies necessitate calling 911, they expressed their overwhelming appreciation for Manzini’s kindness and professionalism.
(WATCH the news coverage below) – Photo by PIX11 News
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