A North Carolina cop 'deputized' a man with learning disabilities and delighted him with toy police equipment.
A special needs man in Charlotte, N.C., loves all things having to do with being an officer of the law, including handcuffs, hand-held radios and — above all — bright, shiny badges.
Now, courtesy of a kindhearted local cop, he has toy versions of all those things. Not to mention a compass and a cool pair of shades.
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“I am at a loss for words at how happy he was when I gave it to him,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Alex Milhazes wrote on Facebook. He posted video of the 25-year-old jumping for joy at being handed a special collection of pretend lawman equipment.
Milhazes told InsideEdition.com that he has gotten to know the man over the past few months. He often comes to chat with officers taking a break near his apartment complex, and always asks for law enforcement stickers the officers carry.
Even when his shirt is plastered with gold stick-on badges, he always wants more, Milhazes said.
The officer decided to give something extra to the enamored fellow. “His pure desire to be around us, and feel like he was one of us, really sunk in with me,” Milhazes said.
So he went on Amazon and found something better — a costume kit with all manner of police accoutrements, including a fake knife, which Milhazes confiscated, saying he didn’t want the man to get in trouble for carrying it around.
Milhazes said he enjoyed giving the gift just as much as the recipient loved getting it.
“I was just as excited and probably giddy,” the cop said.
“You’re so sweet getting it for me,” the man says on camera.
He is especially fond of the make-believe handcuffs. “I need this!” he exclaims.
“Those are just a toy. You gotta be smart with them, OK? You can’t be putting them on people” Milhazes counsels him. “Those are just for you to play with.”
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“I’m so happy,” the man says beaming. But at the same time, he appeared to be in disbelief that the bounty was his to keep.
“You’re giving this all to me?” he asks.
“It’s all yours,” Milhazes tells him.
“Yeah!” he exclaims.
After Milhazes posted the video to Facebook, it of course went viral, with praise pouring in for a thoughtful gesture that made one young man extremely grateful.
Milhazes said his boss, and his fellow officers, have since seen the newly deputized civilian sporting his equipment around town, and pretending to talk to his buddies in blue on his toy radio.
“You’re the real deal,” Milhazes recently told him.
“I’m FBI now!” the man declared, clutching his shiny new badge.
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