It was the week after Easter when Gerald Philbrook woke up to something he couldn't quite understand...thieves had stolen his favorite toy, his John Deere "tractor". One of the things Gerald loved to do was to zip through the parks in his neighborhood on his motorized Big Wheel.

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What happened next would melt the coldest of hearts...

To 4-year-old Gerald and his parent's delight, a group of big-hearted police officers gave him a brand new, replica John Deere.

Patrol Sergeant Andrew Brooks read Gerald’s dad’s Facebook post explaining how his cherished old tractor had been stolen, and he decided to share the story with other officers on his team.

Peter Philbrook wrote in the post how he and Gerald had found the toy and bonded while repairing it, so the tractor held great sentimental value, between a Dad and his son.  Something that was not lost on Gerald or the Police Sergeant.

After conducting an unsuccessful search, Sergeant Brooks, with some assistance from a local Wal-Mart and the local Officers Association, purchased the toy for Gerald. This toy wasn't the rebuilt one that had bonded a father and son, but it was brand new and was outfitted with some special items by the officers involved.

The Sergeant was so overcome with emotion when the time came to give Gerald the new tractor, he started tearing up.

Once he collected himself, Brooks presented Gerald with a personalized license plate for his tractor, as well as a peace-sign bumper sticker.

Upon receiving his special gift, Gerald replied,

“This is actually cooler than the other one!”

(Good News Network)

 

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