Author: Jim Dudley and Doug Wyllie
By PoliceOne Staff
WESTWOOD, N.J. — A boy’s bad day was turned around thanks to several officers.
One morning on the cusp of the summer break, 13-year-old Quentin Reilly was crushed when he saw that his bike had been stolen off his front porch, NorthJersey.com reported. When Officer Ryan Sestanovich learned about the boy’s stolen bike, he recalled a time when the same thing happened to him at age 13.
Sestanovich said he could relate to how Reilly, who’s also known as “Q,” felt after learning that his prized bike was stolen.
Quentin Reilly, 13, is enjoying the summer cruising around town on his new bicycle, thanks to the @WestwoodPolice who replaced his bike after it was stolen. Check out the video by @MitsuYasukawa – full story t/c tomorrow @northjersey ???? pic.twitter.com/RnRIeJILcs
— Sarah Nolan (@SarNolan) July 5, 2018
“The feeling has stuck with me to this day and hearing about Q’s bike brought it right back,” Sestanovich said. “I thought, if I’m in the position to reverse that feeling and give the kid a bike, I’m going to do my best to do that.”
Sestanovich started to network to have the boy’s stolen bike replaced. Eventually, a brand-new, blue Mongoose BMX bike was donated anonymously by a shop in town.
Quentin’s mother, Sara, said her son couldn’t keep the smile off his face when he was presented with his new bike.
“They took the opportunity to do something so meaningful for my son, who doesn’t get a lot, from me at least,” she said. “This was amazing because he’s a good kid and he didn’t deserve to have his bike stolen. It shows how awesome this department is.”
Sestanovich said having the opportunity to change any negative perception of police is priceless.
“The opportunity to possibly change someone’s opinion on police and police work fell right into my lap, and I took it,” Sestanovich said. “It’s not always black and white – we’re here to serve and protect, but we want to connect with the community as much as possible. People shouldn’t be afraid or hesitate to come up and talk to us.”