image via – youtube.com
Police officers are oftentimes viewed through a double lens. They help communities out and enforce the law, but not everyone always feels so safe around them. That’s why it’s important for cops to do community policing where they interact with residents regularly and not just in emergencies or on the worst day of someone’s life. By establishing connections and getting to know people they can make a much bigger impact and earn resident’s trust. This story out of Lake County Ohio goes to show how one officer’s friendly chat with a little girl made all the difference in both his life and hers.
The little girl’s name is Gabrielle and she had her heart set on getting an iPad for school and playing games. When she asked her mother, Melissa, for one she was told that they couldn’t afford it at the moment. Instead of giving up, Gabrielle decided to start a lemonade stand and buy one herself with the profits. Upon hearing that her mother was happy, the stand would keep her daughter busy and teach her the value of money. There was one problem though, the area where they lived was kind of rural and not many people passed by. However, Gabrielle’s grandmother lived nearby at a busy condo complex where people came and went all day long, it was the perfect location.
Excited to start her business right away, Gabrielle gathered up all the things she’d need for the stand and whipped up a batch of fresh lemonade. From the very start business was booming and early on a cop pulled up to her stand. He paid her $3 for a cup of lemonade, well over her asking price of 0.50 cents, and told her that he would let the other officers know about her refreshing business.
Soon afterwards another cop pulled up, this time it was 22 year-old Zach Ropos. He purchased a lemonade and asked Gabrielle what she planned on doing with the money she made from her stand. She told him how she wanted to get an iPad to help with school and that answer, along with her obvious work ethic, impressed him. While she was helping other customers, Officer Ropos spoke with her mother and told her that he had an old iPad at home that he’d love to gift Gabrielle. However, when he got home later that night and plugged in the iPad he discovered it didn’t work.
The next day he headed back to break the bad news to Melissa but before he could Gabrielle ran up to his patrol car and started chatting away. He asked how business was going and she replied she’d made a few dollars but gave it to her mom because her gas tank was empty. Her selfless response affected Officer Ropos and he resolved then and there to get her the iPad she so badly wanted and deserved.
The next day he headed to a local store and asked the owner if they’d contribute towards a tablet for Gabrielle after he told them her story. They agreed and later that day he met up with Gabrielle and her family while they were watching her brother play football. Seeing his car pull up she ran to meet him and that was when he pulled out a pink bag and gave it to her. Gabrielle was thrilled and her mother was overjoyed at the kindness Officer Ropos showed her daughter. She snapped a picture of the two of them posing with the iPad and later that night posted it on Facebook. The picture quickly went viral, it was shared over 34 thousand times and people called for interviews and ran news stories on it.
In the end, Officer Ropos declined most of them, he never wanted any media attention, he just wanted to make a little girl happy.
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