If you’re wondering why Christmas went off without a hitch a couple of years back, you have 5-year-old TyLon Pittman to thank.
He made sure the Grinch couldn’t steal it.
A hot tip
Pittman had been watching videos from the holiday classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on YouTube, and that led him to believe the world had a serious problem on its hands.
And what are 5-year-olds taught to do when there’s an emergency? Call 911 of course.
(Hopefully, it goes without saying that while this story is pretty cute, 911 services aren’t to be used for this kind of call. Everyone is lucky it didn’t interfere with a real emergency.)
In his call, Pittman can be heard saying:
“I’m just trying to tell you something. Um, watch for the Grinch, ’cause the Grinch gonna steal Christmas, OK?”
Answering the call
When Officer Lauren Develle heard about the 5-year-old’s phone call, she decided she wanted to put him at ease.
“He actually thought the Grinch was going to come and steal everybody’s Christmas,” Develle told NPR.
Police then decided to stop by to ask a few more questions about the boy’s report. Develle asked him, for example, what should happen if there was a Grinch sighting.
“He really kind of just needed that reassurance from someone that Grinch could not do that this year — he’s not getting away with anything,” she said.
Of course, the youngster thought that if someone was truly trying to steal Christmas, they should be arrested.
Hatching a plan
Officers decided to show the little boy that justice would be served if such a thing ever happened.
After checking with Byram Police Chief Luke Thompson, Develle decided to set up a sighting and arrest of “the Grinch” and make Pittman the hero he knew he could be.
She called on a friend who dressed as the green meany and let the anxious little boy see just how it would all go down.
“He got in the back of my car as the Grinch and let me get TyLon and bring him into the station for booking,” Develle said.
Pittman’s sister posted photos and videos of the scene to Facebook with the caption:
“I can NOT make this up!!! My 5 year old brother called the police and said that the Grinch is stealing people Christmas and he don’t want him to steal his so they really came to our house!”
Book ’em, Tylon
Of course, we all know that the Grinch is capable of some love. But since Pittman had been watching YouTube videos that left that part out, the police also wanted to set the record straight.
While the boy got to go to the station to see the arrest through, he walked away with more than a sense of justice and relief.
He was also gifted with a toy police car and other goodies from the officers.
And Develle gave him one very special gift – a copy of Dr. Seuss’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. She wanted him to know how the story really ends.
“It’s all about the Christmas joy — bringing the joy of Christmas to a mean Grinch’s heart,” Develle says. “And I just wanted to make sure that TyLon knew that as well — that the Grinch was really capable of loving Christmas as well.”
Be sure to scroll down below to see a news story from the cute Christmas set-up.
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