After his mother dropped him at school that morning, she was picked up for allegedly violating her parole, authorities said.
A compassionate cop came to the rescue of a little boy who was left at school without a ride home – and on his birthday, no less.
Green Bay, Wis., Police Officer Darryl Robinson was called to Howe Elementary School about an 8-year-old student who hadn’t been picked up after classes ended for the day.
After his mother had dropped him at school that morning, she was picked up for allegedly violating her parole, authorities said.
When no one came to get the child at the day’s end, school administrators found no other emergency contacts in their records, according to the department.
Robinson knew the boy’s grandfather, and asked him for permission to take the boy for a ride in his police cruiser when he learned it was the child's birthday.
The officer also took the child to McDonald’s for a cheeseburger.
“He was really excited,” Robinson told InsideEdition.com Thursday. “He had the biggest smile on his face when he saw the patrol car... He had to sit in the back, but he seemed to have a good time.”
Robinson also brought the child to the station house, where he was given some Green Bay Packers cards and police department stick-on tattoos.
The officer said he had previously met the child and his family a few months ago when he was sent to perform a welfare check on the boy during a custody battle between his mother and his paternal grandmother.
The mother was awarded custody, Robinson said.
The child is now at home with his mom, who has been released from jail, the officer said.
His superiors posted his photo and details of his kind act on the department’s Facebook page. Since then, he has been bombarded by media requests and folks wanting to buy birthday presents for the boy.
“I do not like attention,” Robinson said. “I prefer to stay out of the limelight.”
But he felt he needed to contribute to the ongoing, divisive debate on police behavior. So he has agreed to speak publicly on his interaction with the child.
“This is good for police departments everywhere,” he said. “I know they all do something like this every day.”
