A story of a grandpa who returned handcuffs he stole about 60 years ago has now won people over. Shared on the official Twitter account of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the story shows that it is never too late to do the right thing.
Taking to Twitter, the police department shared two images. One of the images is of a handcuff and the other is an apology letter. The man sent those to the police station and also $100 as donation. In the note he explained what made him return the handcuffs after all these years.
He wrote that he is a 74-year-old grandpa from Vista, California and shared the story of how he came in the possession of the handcuffs. “More than 60 years ago I was at Bob’s Big Boy on Sherman Way when an altercation broke on between an LAPD Juvenile officer and a young ruffing. During the scuffle, the officer’s cuff came loose and slide across the floor. They stopped at my feet and I picked them up and kept them,” reads a part of the letter.
In the following lines he explained that every time he looked at the cuffs, he felt a little guilty. However, he was overwhelmed with guilt when he told the story to his two young grandsons who were “aghast” and asked him why he stole the cuffs from a policeman. That is when he decided to return the handcuffs.
{{/usCountry}}In the following lines he explained that every time he looked at the cuffs, he felt a little guilty. However, he was overwhelmed with guilt when he told the story to his two young grandsons who were “aghast” and asked him why he stole the cuffs from a policeman. That is when he decided to return the handcuffs.
{{/usCountry}}In the concluding lines of the note he wrote, “This note is addressed to you, but is partially intended for my grandsons. I will make sure each of them gets a copy of this letter in the hope that they get a different perspective than the one I left with.”
“An envelope arrived at LAPD West Valley station. Inside a letter of apology, a $100 donation & a pair of handcuffs. This was no ordinary letter. It was a life lesson over 60 years in the making, from a grandfather to his grandkids—that it’s never too late to do the right thing,” LAPD shared in their post.
Take a look at the tweet:
Since being shared, the post has gathered more than 1,600 likes and tons of appreciative comments. A few also shared similar stories of how they returned items they stole years ago.
“I stole a piece of lava rock from Volcanoes National Park on the big island years ago. Then I read about the vengeful fire goddess Pele, and how she hates when that happens. When I got home to LA, I mailed the rock back to the park ranger with my apology,” shared a Twitter user. “What a lovely man,” shared another.
Here’s how others reacted:
What do you think of the tweet?