Cleveland, Ohio – On Tuesday there was a disturbance reported at a single bedroom house in Cleveland, Ohio. That is the house of a 73-year-old grandmother. Her neighbor, a 45-year-old mother with three kids to pick up at school, called 911 at 3:00 pm. She reported an urgent emergency to be dealt with at the grandmother’s house. The 911 operator knew he needed to put the police in route when the mother stated, “She has put up her Christmas tree before Thanksgiving.”

  The 45-year-old mother did her rightful duty of protecting her neighborhood by staying at her house until the police arrived instead of   picking up her three children from elementary school. The police rushed down the streets of Cleveland, ignoring all other incoming calls. Local neighbors described hearing the sounds of police sirens zooming down the road. The whole police force was about to be released on the grandmother’s Christmas tree.

The police chief was the first to arrive at the grandmother’s house. He did the heroic act of going straight into action without any backup. He used a battering ram, barging down the door and throwing the grandmother to the ground as the door flew open as she was there to try and greet him. He grabbed the Christmas tree, dragged it out of the house, and threw it in his car to be brought to the incinerator.

 The other police showed up. But it was too late; the dangerous mission was already handled and dealt with by the police chief. They all congratulated him and patted him on the back. Now the grandmother will not be putting up her Christmas tree until after Thanksgiving because she is now hospitalized with a fractured hip until next June.

Without the heroic acts of the Cleveland police chief or mother, who knows what could’ve happened. The ceremony for the police chief’s plaque to be hung in the American Police Hall of Fame is scheduled for next month. The mother was able to pick up her kids from school at 5:00 pm once the coast was clear.

Written By: Greigh Cloward