Not-So-Secret Santa: Aberdeen Officer Replaces Family's Damaged Christmas Decorations
ABERDEEN, Md. (WJZ) -- A police officer helped bring the holiday spirit back to a family who had their decorations destroyed in Harford County.
Aberdeen Police Officer Cynthia Mowery said earlier this week she responded to a family's house who caught a group of intruders on their Ring doorbell camera trashing their decorations and deflating their blowup Santa.
"I looked up and his 5-year-old son was in the door looking out like, the police officer is here, she's going to fix it what happened to Santa," Mowery said.
Mowery said the two kids were devastated and that it was up to her to bring back their smiles.
"I went to Big Lots searching for a blow up Santa," she said.
Mowery said with her own money and the help of her colleagues they surprised the family with new decorations.
The same doorbell camera caught Mowery and her crew putting the lights and blowup Santa back up in the middle of the night.
"They were so happy, and the 5-year-old, I think his name is Dominic he told me he's pretty sure that the boys who did that are on the naughty list so I agree," Mowery said.
It was an act of kindness that quickly spread throughout the neighborhood.
"It's very heartening to hear," Matthew Boyd, of Aberdeen, said. "That brings my spirits up and gives me faith in people and humanity."
Mowery said that she does not want the recognition she received.
"I didn't do anything that any other person wouldn't have done," she said. "It was just the right thing to do."
Mowery said she plans on keeping a close eye on the neighborhood just to make sure no one comes back to steal their decorations.