Behind the Badge
The ice cream came courtesy the cops.
Alhambra Police officers brought a class full of Granada Elementary School kindergartners the cold treats on a red-hot Tuesday to cool nerves after a fleeing burglary suspect barged into their classroom.
The officers arrested the suspect – and returned with treats and kudos for the kids and their teacher.
On Wednesday, the class responded when the mother of one of the students delivered a thank you note and an assortment of cookies and baked goods to the police department.
“We’re happy that everything worked out so well yesterday,” the police department posted on Facebook Wednesday. “It was especially nice to go back and meet with the kids when it was all over. This incident shows that our strong relationship and continued training alongside our teachers and administrators pays off.”
The action began to unfold just before 9 a.m. when a resident reported two strangers breaking into their neighbor’s house. Officers arrived within minutes. Two suspects, a man and woman, fled on foot.
An Alhambra detective chased after the female suspect. The suspect jumped a fence and ran onto the Granada Elementary School campus.
With officers closing in, she darted into a kindergarten classroom.
Once in the classroom, the female suspect pleaded with the teacher to help her hide, police said.
The teacher calmly gathered the children into one corner of the classroom. Just then the pursing officers arrived and arrested the female suspect without a struggle.
The male suspect was arrested about an hour later in the backyard of a nearby home.
A few hours later, the officers arrived with ice cream.
They thanked the five-year-olds for being courageous and listening to their teacher’s instructions during this potentially critical incident.
The Alhambra Unified School District also responded with their critical incident team to assist the students.
Both suspects were arrested for residential burglary and their bail has been set at $50,000.
