TyLon Pittman, who happens to be a 5-year-old hero, loves Christmas. In fact, he loves Christmas so much that he helped the cops capture the nefarious Grinch in order to save Christmas for us all (and Lord knows we need a little extra help this year.)
But no, seriously, in a story too cute to handle, Tylon, who hails from Jackson Miss. actually called 911 to report that he did not want the Grinch to steal Christmas, unbeknownst to his family.
Of course, the dispatcher took the 5-year-old’s call in stride, but when Byram, Miss. Police Officer Lauren Develle heard the story, she was determined to make sure that TyLon knew that his Christmas, as well as all others were going to be safe, the Clarion Ledger reports.
“Our dispatcher posted a status on Facebook that she had received a call from a little boy … and he told her he thought the Grinch was going to be coming to steal his Christmas,” she said. “I asked her to send me his address.”
Develle, who also grew up as a fan of How the Grinch Stole Christmas showed up at Pittmans’ residence over the weekend to help reassure TyLon that he was safe. His older brother, TeDera Dwayne Graves, who is in the Air Force happened to be home for the holidays for the first time in four years and captured the heartwarming interaction on video.
“So what are you going to do if he tries to steal your Christmas?” Develle asked TyLon in one video.
“I want y’all to come back to my house and take him to jail,” TyLon answered.
Develle assured him that they wouldn’t let the Grinch steal his Christmas and that they would take care of the villain.
“You thought the Grinch was going to steal your Christmas, for real?” TyLon’s mother, TeResa Pittman, asked him.
“He steals everybody’s Christmas,” TyLon informed her.
By Monday, the Grinch was taken into custody and locked in a holding cell by Develle and honorary junior officer Tyron who was wearing his brand new Byram Police Department baseball cap.
According to the Ledger, the Grinch could face several charges, including attempted theft of Christmas, Develle said. But for the officer it was more about keeping her promise to the little boy.
“I asked [TyLon] if he saw the Grinch, what would he do, and he said he’d call us and get us to come take him to jail. So I ended up looking around and I found him,” Develle said.
The Grinch and TyLon briefly interacted, with the criminal, still dressed in his Santa suit, shaking his hand.
“You have saved Christmas for the people of Byram. Your bravery is unmatched. You have saved the day,” the Grinch told him.
Good deed completed, Byram Police Chief Luke Thompson told TyLon to stop by when he grows up and fill out a job application.
“When you turn 21, come back and I’m going to give you a job application, OK?” the chief said.
Needless to say, TyLon’s family appreciated the department’s amazing act of service within the community, giving one little boy a Christmas he’d never forget.
“For them to go this far and have this happen, when he wants to be a police officer, it means a lot,” TyLon’s brother told the news site. “And it just shows that there are some really good people out there.”
