“The soul is healed by being with children.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky
The world can be full of kindness. And the heroes that we need are often just an e-mail away. So when a principal from a New York elementary school messaged the Tarrytown Police Department with a special request, there was zero hesitation – of course, they would help.
The email had a simple request from a young 5-year-old boy with incurable brain cancer. “‘He has some wishes,'” Chief John Barbelet recalls the email saying, one of which was to be a police officer. “So right then I said, ‘Okay, we got to look into this.'”
Ethan Hierro taking the police oath to become with his mom Isabel Estevez. Photo by Tarrytown Police Department
Ethan Hierro has wanted to be a police officer since he was three. But 16 months ago, the young boy was hit with a devastating diagnosis: glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor with no cure, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Currently, Ethan is getting treated in Tennessee. “It changed our lives 100%,” his mom, Isabel Estevez said.
(I am) always scared of what’s going to happen.”
Barbelet said that Isabel, a single mom who has two other children to support, was forced to leave her job to take care of Ethan. The family started a GoFundMe to help with expenses. In the message on the fundraiser, Isabel described her son as a “brave, strong kid who isn’t giving in to this disease.”
“We are putting our faith in God (and “Cheeses”) that our little guy wins this fight, and we would love to give him tons of beautiful memories,” she wrote in a moving message. “With your prayers, you can be part of this village to raise Ethan, to save him, and to give him peace and painless moments.” So far, the fundraiser has raised more than $19,000.
The Tarrytown Police Department was determined to do what it could for Ethan. They didn’t disappoint. “We picked him up with a police escort, our motorcycle, probably eight or nine marked units,” Barbelet said. “We put a booster seat in one of our police cars, so his two sisters and him rode in the back, his mom rode in the front, and we brought him down to the police station in his uniform, lights, and sirens.”
Ethan Hierro in his custom police car. Photo by Tarrytown Police Department
Half of the department showed up to help fulfill the boy’s dream. “I only have 34 sworn officers. I probably had 15 or 16 here, full uniform on their days off, away from their families,” Barbelet said. Ethan was then sworn in by Mayor Karen Brown “just like a real police officer,” he said.
Ethan’s special day didn’t stop after the ceremony. With his new shield, he got to experience what a real cop does – making arrests, answering cars. He even got his very own electric police car. “We went and found a uniform online that we purchased for Ethan and we had our patches put on the sleeves by a local tailor,” Barbelet said.
He said that by helping Ethan, it allowed the police to remember a very important lesson. “This is a part of policing,” Barbelet said. “This is a part of giving to your community.” Watch below to get a glimpse of Officer Ethan!
