LAPD Helps Make Eight Year Old Boy’s Wish Come True

LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, February 29, 2000

"LAPD Helps Make Eight Year Old Boy’s Wish Come True"

Los Angeles- On March 1, 2000, at 10:00 A.M., Police Chief Bernard Parks will make a boys wish come true. Stephen Coombe, an eight year-old from Surrey, England, who has been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, will be made an honorary LAPD police officer by Chief Parks. When the Make-A-Wish Foundation® approached Stephen and asked him for his favorite wish, Stephen said he wanted to work and visit with the LAPD. To make Stephen’s wish come true, Chief Parks will present Stephen with an LAPD badge, t-shirt and hat, as he enjoys a first class tour of his favorite Police Department.

Immediately after Stephen’s visit with the Chief, he will be taken to Air Support Division and be given a ride on an LAPD helicopter. Also, at Air Support Division, Stephen will be given a demonstration by the LAPD Bomb Squad and Bomb Detection K-9 unit.

On Thursday, March 2, at 9:00 a.m., Stephen will be given a "special" tour of the Elysian Park Police Academy and have lunch. At 11:00 a.m. he will go to the LAPD’s Mounted Horse Detail in Northeast Area, located at 3934 Rigali Street, Los Angeles, where he will see a special demonstration. Stephen will finish his visit at 2:00 p.m. in Granada Hills, at the LAPD Ed Davis Facility, 12001 Blucher Street, where he will be given a demonstration by the LAPD K-9 unit and get to drive around the Department’s emergency driving training track in a police car with lights and siren.

The Make-A-Wish foundation grants wishes to children under the age of 18 with life-threatening illnesses. It is the largest wish granting organization in the world with 80 chapters in the United States and its territories. The Make-A-Wish Foundation also has twenty international affiliates spanning five continents. Through private donations and the efforts of more than 18,000 volunteers the Make-A-Wish foundation has granted over 73,000 wishes since its inception in 1980 – more than 9600 last year alone.

The Los Angeles Police Department and the Make-A-Wish Foundation invites members of the media to experience Stephen’s visit with him and take an opportunity to capture his "wish" come true.

For further information, please contact LAPD Media Relations Section at 213-485-3586 or Shelley Ginsburg from the Los Angeles Make-A-Wish Foundation at 310-788-9474 or page her at 310-757-1498.

For Release 3:00 pm PST
February 29, 2000