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JENNINGS, La. — A Louisiana man with autism has seen a dream come true thanks to his mother and a local police officer.
Blaize Richard's dream when he turned 18 on July 18, 2012, was to become a police officer, according to his mother, Angie Richard. But the best his mother could do was to buy him an officer's uniform and call the Jennings Police Department to request a surprise visit from a police officer.
Richard wanted her son to be able to "get the look and feel of a real police car," she said in a post on KPLC 7 Sunrise's Facebook page.
"They pulled it together real fast and sent one out and Blaize was the happiest 18 yr old i have ever seen!!" Richard said. She said when she posted the photos of the visit on Facebook, a friend who is a dispatcher at the police department messaged her and started to plan a visit to the police department to meet Officer Mike Hill.
"About a week later Blaize had his visit at the JPD and got a tour that put a smile on his face from ear to ear!!" Richard said.
Blaize received a certificate and a special police department coin, and has been visited by Hill three times, who stopped by the Richards' home "just to visit his ‘backup.' " On Jan. 21, Hill took Blaize a calendar with all the police officers' photos on it, and said he was planning to make another visit soon.
"The JPD gets alot of bad rap but there are good officers who go above and beyond; therefore, thats why i wanted to share my story and show my appreciation to them," Richard said.
