St. Paul Police Deliver Gifts To Family Hit By Two Burglaries
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A group of veteran St. Paul police officers helped a single father make his home more comfortable on Monday afternoon.
St. Paul resident Enrique Gonzales-Ramirez was targeted by thieves twice in December. The single father is raising four children under 10 years old.
After noticing the hardworking father did not have many possessions to begin with, the veteran police officers who responded to the burglary call decided to ask local businesses to donate helpful items to the family.
On Monday afternoon, their efforts paid off. Several officers, including Sgt. Bryant Gaden, loaded up mattresses, bed frames, toys and clothes into a few squad cars and delivered the gifts to Gonzales-Ramirez.
"We've been working upwards of around 20, 25 years, each of us," Gaden said. "You're always wondering what could I have done better, and is there anything more I could have done?"
The officers know they can't help everyone in need, but they were able to help Gonzales-Ramirez.
The father's 6-year-old daughter has a form of cerebral palsy that requires her to seek medical treatment to be able to walk more easily. Gonzales-Ramirez had taken his daughter to a treatment the first time his home was burglarized.
Less than two weeks later, thieves hit the house again, taking a TV and some other belongings.
"All the kids worked over the weekends to collect cans to earn money so they could buy toys for themselves," Gaden said, "and that jar that they kept this money in was also taken."
The officers also brought beds to replace a wooden bunk bed Gonzales-Ramirez had built for his children.
Gonzales-Ramirez thanked the officers and said he had always tried to make his home comfortable for his children, even though he didn't have much money.
"They'll be really happy for everything they've got now," Gonzales-Ramirez said. "But they have always been happy children."
"This is the human side of police work, and this is what we all get into this job for," Gaden said.
The officers made a home already filled with love and warmth just a bit more comfortable. Gonzales-Ramirez says he is hoping to move into a bigger home soon with his children.
St. Paul police are still investigating the burglaries.
