N.J. girl, 8, with a special connection to law enforcement buys a cop lunch
Mikayla Raji was having dinner with her mother at a Middlesex County restaurant when a Jamesburg police officer stopped in to grab a bite to eat.
It was a simple gesture from a little girl.
Mikayla Raji, 8, was having dinner with her mother, Mimi Jimenez-Raji, at a Middlesex County, N.J., restaurant on Friday night when a Jamesburg police officer stopped in to grab a bite to eat. The girl asked her mom if they could pick up his check, NJ.com reported.
Patrolman Joseph Quinn was surprised. Before he returned to duty, he was able to chat with the two.
Then a bit of old-fashioned police work came into play.
"We figured out who paid for Ptl. Quinn's dinner," the Jamesburg Police Department posted on its Facebook page.
Mikayla Raji, they found, had a special connection to law enforcement.
Her father, Thomas, a Perth Amboy police officer, was killed by a drunk driver while on duty in 2008, before Mikayla was born. Her mother, who was two months pregnant at the time, was also a police officer.
Since the girl's kind act, the Jamesburg department has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for her education.
The department described Mikayla as a"wonderful kid with a big heart who loves to do kind things for people." So far, the fund has $555 toward its $10,000 goal.
"To Mimi," the department posted on Facebook. "On behalf of all the members of the Jamesburg Police Department, we want to thank you for Tommy's service as well as yours. Mikayla is a great kid, and you should be very proud of her."
"To Mikayla," the post continued. "Thank you for buying Ptl. Quinn's dinner. You have an OPEN invitation to stop by Headquarters whenever you want, and this time dinner is on us! Your dad would be so proud of the person you are. If you ever need us for anything, you can guarantee we will be there for you."