Joelle Fredman
WMAL.com
FAIRFAX COUNTY — (WMAL) It’s not everyday that a police officer visits a victim’s home to replace an item that was stolen, though that was the case in Fairfax County last month.
On February 21 a woman’s purse was stolen from her car, which contained her rosary and prayer book.
Officer Matt Pleva responded to the scene and after documenting the stolen items he was reminded of his own grandmother and sitting with her in church.
“It struck a cord with Officer Pleva,” Officer Tawny Wright said.
A few days later, Pleva showed up at the victim’s door with a set of rosary beads that he received from his church.
He told the victim, “you can’t go to Mass tomorrow without a rosary.”
The victim was moved by the officer’s action, which went above and beyond the normal protocol.
“She felt that the officer’s actions were professional, and that he conducted the investigation to the extent that he could, but for him to actually show up at her door with a small token of something that she had lost- it really touched her,” Wright said.
Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (photo: Fairfax County Police Department)
