A young boy’s parents are grateful to a police officer who showed up at their home after an unusual 911 call from their 12-year-old son with autism.
Ryan Paul was so distraught, according to News 12 New Jersey, that he did what he was taught to do in emergencies: call 911.
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Officer Khari Manzini arrived at Ryan's home earlier this month after the boy made the call.
“The teddy bear fell down again. Don’t worry, I’ll rescue you. Goodbye again, see you again,” Ryan could be heard saying on the call.
Manzini said after learning Ryan has autism, he used training he received from the organization POAC Autism Services and helped the boy look for his bear.
POAC Autism Services has trained more than 67,000 first responders in New Jersey in autism recognition, according to News 12 New Jersey. The group says the training has saved lives.
Manzini said they found the bear, named Freddy, and it is back in safe hands.
“We came as fast as we could,” Manzini said. “Ryan was very happy to see me, and I was actually happy to see him happy, and that we had gotten the teddy bear back.”
Ryan's father, Robert Paul, later thanked the officer for responding, saying he was "gracious and understanding."
Robert Paul said he’s proud his son knew what to do in an emergency.
“We just need to fine-tune it a little bit, as to when it actually gets used,” he said.
Note: 911.gov says teaching children the appropriate usage of the 911 system is just as important as teaching them how to place the call. Click here to learn more about 911 for Kids.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
This article was originally published in 2019. It has since been updated.