Crime & Safety

Anonymous Boy Donates Savings to Greenfield Police Department

The boy walked into the police station Friday afternoon, pulled out a bag of change from his backpack and left it at the front counter.

Updated 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16

Greenfield police have learned the boy who donated the $10.03 in change Friday is 11-year-old Max Siepert, who is from Milwaukee and attends Greenfield Middle School.

The police department thanked Max on its Facebook page Monday:
Max donated the money in memory of his grandfather, a Milwaukee Police Department officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1974. Max rode his bike to the police station without his parents knowledge and didn't expect the attention. THANK YOU MAX and THANK YOU to your grandfather for his sacrifice.
Original story:

Two days after the country remembered the fallen first responders who died in the 9/11 attacks, a young boy made a sweet and touching gesture at the Greenfield Police Department.

On Friday afternoon, the boy, perhaps 8 to 10 years old, walked into the Greenfield Police Department and left a bag of change at the counter telling the clerk he wanted to donate his money to "the police."

He turned and walked away without giving his name.

"In the 29 years I've been here, we've never had this, where a young kid comes in and wants to donate his money," Assistant Chief Paul Schlecht said. "Occasionally we have people that come in and want to donate stuffed animals or food for the guys, but this is the first time we've had someone of this age do this."

The donation of $10.03 was turned over the the Greenfield Police Foundation, a non-profit organization associated with the police department that helps funds its K-9 unit, hunter safety courses, the Citizen's Police Academy and more.

Schlecht said camera footage from the exterior of the building shows the boy walking to the station on his own.

"He comes in, doesn't say why, how or when. Here it is, and he turns and before the clerk can get any information about who he is, he leaves," Schlecht said.

"Officers are dealing with bad situations or difficult situations, and to have someone come in with that act of kindness, it lifts morale."

Video of the encounter, which lasted all of 50 seconds, was posted to the police department's You Tube account.


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