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Green Bay officer helps child on his birthday after no one picked him up from school

Green Bay officer helps child on his birthday
Posted at 3:04 PM, Oct 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-25 20:01:54-04

What could have been a very difficult birthday for a child was made a little easier thanks to the kindness of a Green Bay police officer.

On Monday, Officer Darryl Robinson from the Green Bay Police Department went to Howe Elementary School for a child who was not picked up at the end of the day, the department said in a Facebook post. 

The boy's parent is in jail. Sadly, it was the child's birthday.

After getting permission from the boy's grandfather, Officer Robinson took the child to eat at McDonald's and to ride around in his police car for his birthday. 

Officer Robinson said he was just doing his job.

"Officers do this every day, not just police but different public service jobs as well," he said. "All of us do this, it's not a rare occurence."

But he's definitely not used to the attention.

"There are a lot of good people out there who reached out and they want to help," Officer Robinson explained. "A lady from Oshkosh called and left a voicemail that she wants to buy this kid some gifts and help deliver it to him. Things like that makes this job worth it."

Officer Robinson said he knows how the boy feels. He said when he was young, he was inspired to become an officer after riding along with former Green Bay Police Captain Bill Bongle.

The owner of a local McDonald's previously gave the department free cheeseburger coupons to hand out in certain situations, including ones like this.

The department is thanking community partners, like McDonald's, for aiding officers in helping out others during shifts.