Originally published at: Listen to adorable 4-year-old boy calling police to share his toys, and their remarkable response | Boing Boing
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Now, this is the “mostly wonderful things” part.
Sorely needed, these times!
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Man, I hate being a crusty, jaded old curmudgeon, but I shudder to think how this would have ended in the U.S.
That being said, as the dispatcher told the dad, “Aw, bless him.”
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I can tell you a bit of how it is in the States: by the age of 4, my children knew not to trust the police with their safety.
I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have that sense of safety and security around law enforcement officers.
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The US is full of these “feel good” cop stories as well. There are tons of them where some 4 year old loves Paw Patrol and the cops come up and give him a deputy badge for his birthday or what ever. Or playing basketball with some black kids or something. It is image PR the media loves to promote. There was a pic of Border Patrol agent showing a kid his horse making the rounds after the “rein whip” video was shown.
IMO it is PR to remind you that “we aren’t bastards all the time”, or somehow build up good will so that when they kill someone or trample your rights you are more likely to cut them some slack. 
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We can tell this didn’t happen in the USA because the dog was still alive when the cops left
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And so was the kid, for that matter.
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Nor can I.
In my world, the police are to be feared even more than the criminals.
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All I could think of while listening was Wellington Paranormal…
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Definitely very heart warming, wish i could’ve seen the kid showing the police officer their toys!
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Placed a smile on this old mans face.
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And Mum really was ok considering the fact pattern: child makes emergency call, Dad comes on the phone, Mum is sick and can’t talk. This was a welfare check with a cute ending. But I hate that my mind goes this way and the police have to consider this a situation.
Also - Cool that the Kiwi national police service also go by their Maori name:
Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa.
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This is community policing, done right. Being human and having a sense of humour is helpful. I got stopped once for putting on my headlights right when I saw a police officer, whose presence reminded me I’d forgotten. He said, “You know sir, the headlights are not only for the police. Have a nice day.”
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The dispatcher had a definite Officer O’Leary vibe.
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Yep, The Kiwis showing us how Policing should be done. Something similar would most likely have happened here is OZ.
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*begins Googling “how to move to New Zealand”*
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I appreciate that stories like this from other countries can sometimes feel like hearing something from a completely different reality.
Reminds me of this prank call by an 8 year old in Ireland. Things are probably grittier in Dublin.
Never fails to make my laugh hysterically:
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