An APD officer’s spirit of giving
Young victim gets birthday bike to replace stolen one
Police officers respond to plenty of calls that involve the worst moment in someone’s life.
But they can also be the first to offer help when a family needs it.
Officer Timothy Wolffbrandt was in that position recently when he encountered a 12-year-old boy who’d had his bicycle stolen — on his birthday, no less.
The officer, using his own money, immediately bought Brian Diaz-Alvarez a new bike and delivered it.
The act of kindness earned him a “Friday’s Hero” designation from Mayor Richard Berry earlier this month. The theft happened in September.
“We appreciate your leadership and your heart for service,” Berry said in a news conference at City Hall. “That young man will remember that for the rest of his life.”
In an interview with KOAT-TV, Wolffbrandt said he decided to get a new bike for Diaz-Alvarez while gathering information to fill out his report.
“I asked him first for his birth date,” Wolffbrandt said, “and he said, ‘Well, today’s my birthday,’ which kind of killed me inside.”
Officer Simon Drobik, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said the department is always
looking for toys to donate to children caught up in domestic disputes or other crimes. The public can drop off toys at any APD substation.
Many people donate around the holidays, Drobik said, but donations are always welcome because officers deliver the toys throughout the year.
Officers buy and deliver toys themselves sometimes, too, he said.
Just this week, he said, officers Troy Simpson and Andrew Cook rounded up donations — and contributed some of their own money to help — after a single mom had Christmas gifts stolen from her apartment.
Thieves made off with a laptop computer, jewelry and clothes. The mom, Taralynn Martinez, has a 17-year-old daughter and a 11-year-old son.
“As an officer or not,” Drobik said, “you can relate to someone getting their presents stolen from them around Christmas.”
Having teddy bears and toys around the police substation is a big help when officers respond to calls involving children, he said in an interview.
The main six substations, each housing an area command, are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“We’re literally on the streets, on the ground, in the trenches — seeing what’s happening on these domestic-violence calls,” Drobik said. “We get these toys to (children) immediately.”