Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DRAPER — Police in Draper stepped in for Santa after a family discovered their home had been burglarized Christmas eve.
Two officers responded to the family's call when they arrived home about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, reporting that all the gifts under their tree had been taken as well as jewelry and other items in the house.
The family's three sons — ages 16, 11 and 4 — were going to wake up the next morning with no gifts, the officers realized.
"We decided we didn't want that to happen," said Draper Police Sgt. Scott Adams.
The two officers advised the rest of the staff, who were eager to pitch in, and money left over from the department's sub-for-Santa campaign was added to the project.
Initially the officers had hoped to use the list of items found in their police report, Adams said, but had no where to shop. Instead, they bought a few small items and some gift cards.
They returned to the home about 11 p.m. to present the gifts. They were met at the door by the father and one of the sons, who responded with "nothing but tears and graciousness," Adams said.
Adams praised the two officers and the rest of the department for standing behind a family in their community.
"We take ownership of our city, and when something like this happened, it cuts deep for us," Adams said.