The following nomination letter was written by Police Chief Lance Call of the American Fork Police Department:
Officer Brain Morgan, an eleven year veteran of police service, was called to the home of the Davenport family about mid-day on April 7, 2016. Tyler Davenport reported to Officer Morgan that his two daughters, 5 year old Kimberly (Kimmie) and 10 year old Laura, had been outside jumping on the family trampoline with friends, when three Jr. High age boys walked by the house. One of the boys picked up Kimmie’s brand new “Frozen” scooter and started riding off with it. The frantic girls yelled at the boys to leave the scooter but to no avail. Kimmie’s scooter was gone. Kimmie was crestfallen.
After gathering all the necessary information for the police report, Officer Morgan spent some time searching the
neighborhood for the stolen scooter. It isn’t uncommon that the thief of a bicycle or scooter will ride it for a couple of blocks or to their intended destination and then abandon it. In spite of his best efforts, Officer Morgan could not locate Kimmie’s “Frozen” scooter.
Because Officer Morgan is the father of an eight year old daughter and a set of seven year old twin boys, he could appreciate the heartbreak Kimmie was experiencing due to the loss of her “Frozen” scooter.
Officer Morgan called up Mr. Davenport later in the afternoon and reported he had diligently searched for the scooter, but couldn’t find it. Officer Morgan quizzed the dad about the specific details of the scooter – its manufacturer, model, and color scheme. Mr. Davenport just thought Officer Morgan was being thorough in his investigation by getting every detail he could about the scooter.
Later in the afternoon, Officer Morgan showed back up at the Davenport home with a brand new Huffy “Frozen” scooter in hand. Without fanfare or the knowledge of his fellow officers, Officer Morgan had gone to a nearby retailer and with his own money purchased an identical scooter for Kimmie. When Officer Morgan presented the new scooter to Kimmie, she was thrilled. Her dad reported later in a “Thank You” letter written the following day to the department, that Kimmie had been delighted and had spent the rest of the afternoon riding the scooter and showing it off to everyone.
Officer Morgan could have just taken the police report of the stolen scooter and moved on to the next call for service, but instead he elected to heal a broken heart and restore a family’s faith in their fellowman.