Mpls. Officers Donate Bike To Boy Who Lost His In Assault
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 10 year-old boy is smiling again because of a pair of caring police officers.
Bike riding has been the highlight of Jordan Arellano's summer.
"I have a time limit on my electronics, so after … my time limit's done I usually go out and ride my bike," Arellano said.
He was riding near his south Minneapolis home last Saturday when a kid he did not know began shouting demands.
"He told me, 'Get off you bike!' I said 'no,'" Arellano said. "He put his hand under his shirt … like faking that he had a gun."
Arellano says that was when the kid got violent.
"He pulled my bike up to try and make me fall. I didn't let myself, and he said 'Get off the bike,' and I said 'no' until I think he got frustrated and punched me in the face," he said. "I got scared so I gave him my bike."
Arellano's mother called police. The third precinct officers who responded did not want to be identified, saying they were just doing their job.
"Seeing that kid on a couch with his lip swollen like that, frightened and shocked that his bike was taken in the neighborhood he's lived at for years, we talked about it and knew the program was around, and we thought he'd be a perfect kid to use the program," said one of the officers.
The officers called in Bike Cops for Kids, who handed out 700 bike helmets and 53 bikes last year alone, thanks to their community partners.
"We felt bad," said the other officer. "We wanted to help him out."
The officers involved helped Arellano get back to what he loves. And more importantly, they made a new friend who now knows what to do when trouble comes around.
"When I need help I will always contact you," Arellano said.
Bike Cops for Kids have two full-time officers who log countless hours on bikes, engaging young people in the community.
Police are still looking for the young man who took Arellano's bike.
