FOUNTAIN — On Wednesday, August 24, a student from School District 8 had his backpack stolen out of his car in a parking lot near the Walmart on Highway 85 in Fountain.
All of the boy's school supplies, school work, school computer, and money he had collected fundraising for band were gone.
Corporal Don Klinge, a School Resource Officer with the Fountain Police Department (FPD), responded to the theft in progress.
"I happened to have an extra backpack in my patrol car and I offered it to him and he was like 'Yeah, this is my favorite color,' so it was kind of a win win."
Cpl. Klinge carries extra, new backpacks to in his patrol car to give to any students in need. He gave the student who had been burglarized a new backpack and school supplies, so he would not return to school empty handed the next morning.
FPD says officers pay for good deeds like this out of their own pocket, saying Cpl. Klinge "would literally give the shirt off his back to anyone that needed it".
"Most of it comes from my childhood and being one of those students that was from a poor background and didn't have a whole lot of stuff and so my biggest goal as police officer is to make sure no child ever feels that pain," said Cpl. Klinge.
Several people in Fountain have expressed interest in donation to Cpl. Klinge's school supplies in his patrol car, but FPD says they do not have anywhere to store an influx of donations at this time.
School District 8 is always accepting donations of new school supplies or new clothing for students across the district, anyone interested can contact Promis Bruno at pbruno@ffc8.org.
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