Two Boston police officers put a twist on the phrase “protect and serve” when they found out thieves robbed a seventh grader of his birthday money.
The dream of a new pair of basketball shoes was almost lost for 13-year-old Amir Taste of Roxbury. He had $100 of birthday money, cash he was saving to buy new sneakers, when police said he was robbed by a group of teenagers in broad daylight in Dudley square.
“One of them was like, ‘If you don’t give me the money I’m going to shoot you,’” Taste said. “One of them got in my face, jumped in my pockets and tried to find it, and they found it.”
Taste said he made it to school and reported it to administrator Peter Leroy.
“He was really distraught, naturally,” Leroy said. “To be robbed, to be robbed of your birthday money that he had on you, because things are out of your control, yeah, he was distraught.”
Taste and his teacher filed a police report with the Boston Police Department’s school division, hoping for justice. A week later, Taste got, something better.
The police officers came back with a new pair of Nike sneakers, which a local store donated to the officers when they told them the boy’s story.
“I was shocked,” Taste said. “Because one, I knew that I didn’t have the money to get a new pair of shoes. I knew I wasn’t going to get new shoes for a while, so when they got me the shoes, I was excited.”
(Copyright (c) 2016 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)