DETROIT (WWJ) – Detroit Police Chief James White stepped away from his duties on Thursday. Well, at least for a short while.
White turned over temporary command to 4-year-old Aniel Mendez of Detroit, making a dream come true for the little boy, fighting a battle against stage-four brain cancer.
White bestowed Mendez with a badge and other gifts and treated him to a day of his dreams. His mother, Abby Mendez said he always wanted to be a police officer when he grows up.
“He is going through some big things. He had a tumor that was cancerous. They took it out, but he has to go through radiation and they did say that it’s very serious, so we’re gonna make as many memories as we can,” she said.
The prognosis doesn’t look good for Mendez, but he had a day to remember. Aside from getting his very own badge, the boy got to ride along with DPD's Special Response Team in a brief parade along Michigan Avenue that included motorcycle and horse mounted patrols officers.
He even learned how to salute those officers under his command.
As Mendez is set to begin radiation on Friday, the Detroit Public Safety Foundation, along with the Detroit Police and Fire Departments, worked to make his special day happen in less than 24 hours.
While the special day certainly made an impact on Mendez and his family, it also touched the police department.
“I just pray for his family,” White said. “It’s Christmas season and to have to deal with something like that is just devastating. But he’s a little hero and I’m happy to be able to do something like this.”