Behind the Badge
After leaving the Fullerton Police Station on Monday, 8-year-old Boyd Houser got to check something off his bucket list.
Boyd, who has autism, and more than 20 of his special-needs classmates from Golden Hill Elementary School’s Special Day Classes received a VIP tour of the Fullerton PD’s station on Commonwealth Avenue on Oct. 10.
Boyd has been curious about the police department for some time, said his father, Larry Houser, founder of Fullerton Cares Autism Coalition, a nonprofit that raises thousands of dollars annually for special-needs programs geared towards autism in the Fullerton School District.
Kids from Golden Hill Elementary School take a tour of the Fullerton Police jail processing center on the first floor during a tour of the station.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“He has been asking me about (the police station) and I would see him Googling it,” Houser said. “I asked him if he would like to visit the station. His eyes lit up and he said yes.”
So Houser reached out to Sgt. Jon Radus, public information officer in the Community Services Bureau, who was happy to arrange a tour.
“We want them to see all the things that we have to help them,” Radus said.
Radus and Capt. Scott Rudisil led the excursion, which included a tour of the jail, the detective bureau and dispatch unit — a unit where 911 calls are fielded that few people ever get to see.
Jason Hoskinson, 11, a student at Golden Hill Elementary School, kneels down to pet Rotar, a Fullerton PD K9. With him is Maria Fischer, an instructional aid at the school, and Fullerton PD Officer Jonathan Ferrell.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
The kids sat inside the cabin of an armored SWAT vehicle.
“It’s safe in here,” Radus told the youngsters. “Nothing can get us in here.”
The kids got to sit inside a patrol car and see all the high-tech equipment inside.
They were introduced to Rotor, one of three K9s in the department.
“This is as much fun for us as it is for them,” Rudisil said.
The tour was beneficial on many levels, Houser said.
Kids from Golden Hill Elementary School in Fullerton sit in front of a BearCat SWAT vehicle during a tour of the Fullerton Police Station on Oct. 10.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“They typically need a little more help,” Houser said of children with autism. “So to understand where to go for help is very positive.”
Special-needs youngsters are sometimes afraid of loud noises such as the shrill sound made by sirens, so understanding that the police officers using the sirens are here to help them alleviates some of the fear.
“They were very afraid to come,” said Sue Pettinicchio, a teacher in the special needs programs. “And they look like they are having a blast.”
Summer Dabbs, vice president of Fullerton Cares, said the tour also helps bridge the gap between the special-needs children and the police.
Fullerton PD Cpl. Stephen Bailor talks to the kids from Golden Hill Elementary School in Fullerton about riding a police motorcycle during a tour of the police station.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“It teaches them not to be afraid of police officers and it helps police officers get to know some of the kids in the community,” Dabbs said.
The tour ended in the department’s briefing room, where the kids had a chance to provide feedback.
“I’m going to go find some crooks,” one student blurted out.
Boyd also had some parting words as he left the station.
“We saw the jail and the police dog and everything,” he said. “We can come back again.”
Kids from Golden Hill Elementary School hold hands as they walk through Fullerton PD’s dispatch center, which is decorated for Halloween.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Kids from Golden Hill Elementary School hold hands as they walk through police headquarters during a tour of the Fullerton Police Station on Monday.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Fullerton PD Sgt. Jon Radus receives high-fives and fist bumps from Golden Hill Elementary School kids at the conclusion of a tour of the police station.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Fullerton Police officers Jonathan Ferrell, back left, Capt. Scott Rudisil, Sgt. Jon Radus and Officer Andrew Coyle stand with kids from Golden Hill Elementary School in the police briefing room during a tour of the Fullerton Police Station.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
