Indiana police officers replace stolen Christmas gifts for family
South Bend police officers saved the day for one family on Christmas by replacing gifts that were stolen during a break-in.
A group of Indiana police officers saved Christmas just in time for a local family after a break-in left them with nothing under their Christmas tree.
Officer Anthony Dawson joined "Fox & Friends First," alongside other South Bend police officers who saved the day, to discuss how they were able to turn the tide for the holiday just in time.
"I was shocked," Dawson told Ashley Strohmier. "First we go in, and you see nothing under a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. You're in shock. And then you see the kids that they seem to be stoic…. They didn't know what really was going on. At that time, I'm training a new officer who is the second day on patrol, and we knew we needed to do something."
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The South Bend Police Department (SBPD) posted a video to Facebook on Saturday that showed a family's young children responding gleefully as they run to the gifts that officers brought to replace the ones they had lost.
"We interrupt our road condition updates to bring you a video you need to see this Christmas Eve," the department wrote along with the video.
"Earlier today, day shift officers responded to a Breaking & Entering complaint at a home in South Bend. After talking to the homeowner, officers learned that Christmas gifts had been taken, leaving the children with nothing for the holidays," the department added.
The SBPD explained that officers managed to get in touch with organizers of the South Bend FOP Lodge #36 Santa's Elficers program, who provided new gifts to the family that had been left over from a toy drive.
Officer Josh Morgan said the program has been in place since 2016, and they have been able to provide gifts for 900 kids locally since expanding the program within the last few years.
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"It's just been a great feeling to be able to help those that normally would not be able to have a Christmas," Morgan said. "And sometimes these types of situations, we run into them all too often as police officers, and it's something that we felt that we just had to jump in and help as many kids as we could… Next year, hopefully the program will be bigger, and we're looking forward to it."
Officer Brian Meador also reflected on the moment, detailing how situations like this one make wearing the badge "worthwhile."
The officers also brought food for the family that had been victimized by a burglary. (Credit: South Bend Police Department)
"It's amazing, really… It's why we do what we do," Meador said. "So many times, you see just the negative, but this was an opportunity for us to do something positive and to see those children's reaction, that makes everything worthwhile."
"They were filled with joy. They were excited. They were going through those presents like crazy," he continued. "Nothing better than that."
Fox News' Jon Brown contributed to this report.
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