CONTRIBUTED BY THE CITY OF AUBURN CLARENCE STEWART
ASST. CHIEF OF POLICE
AUBURN —
Last fall, the Auburn Public Safety Communications Center received a heartwarming request from a 5-year-old child visiting their grandmother. The child wanted to meet a police officer, and the department wasted no time making it happen.
Lieutenant Darrell Downing, Corporal Garth Ellenburg and Officer Matthew Pavey were dispatched to meet the child, and they went above and beyond to make a lasting impression. As they interacted with the child, they engaged in playful banter and even gave a tour of their patrol car.
Months later, the child’s grandmother, Linda Fenty, visited the Auburn Police Department (APD) to express gratitude for the officers’ kindness and compassion. She brought a beautiful gift of over 20 handmade quilts as a token of her appreciation. She says it was a group effort as materials for the quilts were contributed by members of the Far Flung Quilters Group, an international guild which meets annually in Asheville, North Carolina.
“I would like to offer a sincere thank you to those who donated fabric to this cause, as well as the quilt maker,” Chief Cedric Anderson. “We understand that it takes a lot of time, skill and funds to make these quilts and we are grateful for their donation.”
“It was truly an honor to meet this young child and show them the positive side of law enforcement,” Downing said. “We are grateful for the opportunity and are committed to serving our community in this way.”
These gifts will be given away as comfort quilts to child victims that Auburn Police encounter on scene of traumatic events, as well as donated to local organizations in the Auburn community. The Auburn Police Department is proud to have officers like Ellenburg, Downing and Pavey, who go above and beyond to impact people’s lives positively