8-Year-Old Spends The Day As Honorary Bethel Park Police Officer

BETHEL PARK (KDKA) – Eight-year-old Joey Fabus gets a guided tour of the Bethel Park Police Department.

On "Joey Fabus Day," he wears a police uniform, something he had only dreamed about.

Officer Tom Rigatti set the day in motion after receiving an email from Joey's parents, telling of their son's inoperable brain tumor.

"Being a police officer is part of being a fraternity," Rigatti says. "Once you're in, you want to be a part of it. And every officer wanted to share with this little boy his special time, so you could see a lot of guys came in when they weren't even working just to be a part of it."

"I'm very proud to be a part of this community," says Cindy Fabus, Joey's mother. "They put it together in a matter of a few weeks, all for him. Once Officer Rigatti knew, that was it. It just snowballed from there and that's where we are today."

The swearing in ceremony makes it official.

Officer Fabus is ready to go on patrol.

Joey and Officer Rigatti are not in the patrol car very long before they spot an offender. They saw a violator blowing through the stop sign at Slater's Railroad Crossing.

The rookie officer gives out his first traffic citation.

The driver looks a lot like Officer Rigatti's daughter. But a good cop doesn't play favorites. Joey Fabus has made the grade.

"It's the best day of my life," he says with a smile.

Rigatti says the Fabus family is also in need of financial assistance, after Joey's father stopped working to spend time with his son and take him to treatments.

For information on how to donate to the Fabus family, they have a website called littlejoeysarmy.net.

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