New Police Chief for the day
The St. Charles police department gained a new chief! 5 year-old Sydney was granted the opportunity to be police chief for the day.
Sydney is battleing a rare form of kidney cancer and will soon begin a four month isolation period to prepare her for surgery. Luckily police officer, Sean Birdsong was able to meet her first.
At a regular traffic stop, Officer Birdsong noticed a little girl seemed to be having a rough day. The police force had just recently joined up with Project Backpack, where children in unfortunate situations are gifted backpacks that are similar to care packages. Many officers carry backpacks in the car just in case they run into a child in need.
Luckily, Officer Birdsong had an extra backpack in the car and gave it to Sydney. Along with the gift he also hand wrote her a note, telling her to get better soon. Sydney’s relative was so overcome with the kindness Officer Birdsong had shown to her family, she went to social media and thanked his kind actions. From there, Birdsong and the family stayed connected.
With the department’s help, the idea to make Sydney chief for the day soon blossomed. Officer Birdsong was eager to express what was so special about Sydney, “She is very inspirational to all of us at the First Responder Community, very brave young lady and we admire her very much.”
Her young spirit that shows both bravery and her positive attitude are contagious. Her great uncle, Matthew Manley, dedicates his time to help her do things she loves. “Anytime we do something that makes her smile, it makes me feel good too.”
Sydney was a little overwhelmed and nervous when she walked into the police department, but with the help of Cinderella, Sydney warmed up to the idea of the party being all about her. She got to visit the entire facility, and check out cop cars and helicopters.
Chief David Todd believed that this not only raised Sydney’s spirits but those of his officers as well. “It’s not her privilege, its ours to have Sydney as our chief today, and I can’t think of a better way to spend bosses day and to share my office with Chief Sydney and the rest of the department.”
As Sydney heads to isolation, the department will be getting updates on her well being. The day was such a hit, the officers hope to start celebrating more kids in the future.
