Riverside Police donate Christmas gifts to family after their home was burglarized

Family gets special Christmas gift from Riverside police

A burglar stole all the gifts under their Christmas tree. When the family reported the crime to police, officers went above and beyond to return the gifts to the family.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - It's a Christmas they won't forget.

The Riverside Police Department went above and beyond to help a family after their house was burglarized.

Late Christmas Eve, a mom and her two sons returned home to discover their apartment had been burglarized and the presents under the tree were stolen.

They called police to report the crime. That's when officers got the idea to surprise the family and help them during the holidays.

According to the police department, Watch A Patrol Officers collected extra toys from the station, gathered money from fellow officers and dispatchers, and just before 3:30 a.m. the officers returned to the apartment to surprise the family with the donated gifts and money.

The Riverside Fire Department heard what happened and within a few hours they donated even more gifts, the police department said in a statement.

"We couldn’t be more proud of our officers and dispatchers here at the Riverside Police Department, along with our Riverside Fire Department. And we promise our detectives will do everything they can to identify and find this criminal scrooge who tried to ruin Christmas in Riverside," the statement read.