Brittany Meske’s 4-year-old son, Michael, asked for something special for his birthday this year: A real-life police car. The wish wasn’t within Meske’s power to grant — but it was for a Canby police officer, who surprised Michael this week by making his birthday dream come true.
Last month, Meske had thrown her son an elaborate police-and-fire-themed birthday, complete with a flaming cake, first responder-themed snacks (“po po”-tato salad, anyone?), doughnut pinata and mug shot photo booth.
She posted photos on the local Facebook group Canby Now, along with Michael’s wish for “a REAL police car and fire truck.”
She certainly did not expect a Canby law enforcement official to see the post or reach out to her — but that’s exactly what Canby Officer Todd Trapp did.
“The officer saw the post and sent me a direct message asking if he could stop by so Michael could actually sit in a real police car,” Meske said. “It made his birthday wish come true.”
Michael was a little shy at first, but that soon changed.
“As soon as the lights and siren went on, he couldn’t hold back the smiles,” Meske recounted. “He had a toy cop car he showed the officer, and they took a picture together with his toy car next to the real car. He is obsessed with anything fire, police, Life Flight, AMR. He loves all of it.”
For Meske, who recently left a security job due in part to negativity some associate with law enforcement and those in uniform, it was amazing and humbling to see a police officer she’d never met go out of his way to make a special birthday memory for her son.
“It was truly amazing,” she said. “Watching him interact with Michael, showing him all the buttons, the radio and letting him reel in the spike strips was so cool. It’s so important for our youth to have positive interactions with our law enforcement officers. For him to reach out in that way, [Officer Trapp] definitely has a good heart.”
