• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
      Go that extra mile with a smile
      Improving the promotional process for supervisors
      Developing an ethics-centered police department
      Leadership without the family factor is not leadership
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
        Go that extra mile with a smile
        Improving the promotional process for supervisors
        Developing an ethics-centered police department
        Leadership without the family factor is not leadership
    • Editor’s Picks
      • Off duty, but never off guard
        The tyranny of memories
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
        Empowering through experience
        Getting ahead of the story
    • On the Job
      • No case too cold
        Summer is coming
        Securing the Texas border one K-9 team at a time
        Empowering through experience
        Philadelphia Amtrack officer’s quick actions saves conductor’s...
    • Labor
      • Critical incidents and waiting woosah
        Insufficient police staffing continues throughout the U.S.
        The righteous battle
        Recruitment and retention
        Austin police chief aims to end officer shortage as recruitment...
    • Tech
      • Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
        A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
        Is AI the future of report writing?
    • Training
      • Off duty, but never off guard
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
        Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
        Duty knives: Practical or just “tacticool”
        Dry-fire practice doesn’t need to be boring
    • Policy
      • Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
        Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
        Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
        Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
        Dakota’s Law: Pensions for police dogs?
    • Health/Wellness
      • Avoiding the road to burnout
        Texas sheriff’s office hit with series of suicides
        The tyranny of memories
        “Why are you mad at me?”
        Tired of being tired?
    • Community
      • San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
        Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
        Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
        A local problem with a statewide solution
        From traffic stops to tip-offs: Iowa officer becomes basketball...
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
        The pain and sorrow of loss
        A cop and his car
        A dream of remembrance
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • No case too cold
      Summer is coming
      Securing the Texas border one K-9 team at a time
      Empowering through experience
      Philadelphia Amtrack officer’s quick actions saves conductor’s...
  • Labor
    • Critical incidents and waiting woosah
      Insufficient police staffing continues throughout the U.S.
      The righteous battle
      Recruitment and retention
      Austin police chief aims to end officer shortage as recruitment...
  • Tech
    • Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
      A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
      Is AI the future of report writing?
  • Training
    • Off duty, but never off guard
      Meeting training needs on a limited budget
      Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
      Duty knives: Practical or just “tacticool”
      Dry-fire practice doesn’t need to be boring
  • Policy
    • Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
      Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
      Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
      Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
      Dakota’s Law: Pensions for police dogs?
  • Health/Wellness
    • Avoiding the road to burnout
      Texas sheriff’s office hit with series of suicides
      The tyranny of memories
      “Why are you mad at me?”
      Tired of being tired?
  • Community
    • San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
      Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
      Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
      A local problem with a statewide solution
      From traffic stops to tip-offs: Iowa officer becomes basketball...
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
      The pain and sorrow of loss
      A cop and his car
      A dream of remembrance
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

On the Job

NYPD officer helps 3-year-old girl after random attack

APB Team Published October 18, 2022 @ 12:00 pm PDT

NYPD

An NYPD officer is being praised for doing the right thing after helping a 3-year-old girl recover from a random attack.

According to the NYPD, earlier this year, 3-year-old Sophia was being pushed in a stroller by her grandma when a random attacker threw her stroller to the ground.

Police say that Sophia was left with multiple bruises and a large cut on her forehead that required stitches.

The attacker was arrested after the incident, but Sophia and her family were “understandably traumatized,” according to police.

That’s when Officer Cristopher Vera, who at the time worked as a neighborhood coordination officer with the 109th Precinct, stepped up to create a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Sophia’s medical care. The community was able to raise over $2,500 for Sophia, who later visited 109th Precinct to meet her hero.

Video and photos released by the department show Vera escorting Sophia around the station and presenting her with gifts. The child then gives Vera a big hug and smiles.

“When she stopped by the 109th Precinct to visit and thank the officers, the NYPD had more surprises for her — toys, clothes, school supplies, gift cards, and more.

Officer Vera is no stranger to giving back to the community. Over the last few holidays, he began collecting money from friends and family to purchase gifts to hand out to the kids he came across while working Christmas evenings,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.

Although he has since moved on to a new assignment, Vera stayed in contact with Sophia and her family.

Categories: On the Job Tags: Sophia, 109th Precinct, NYPD, New York, social media, community, GoFundMe, random attack, 3-year-old girl, Cristopher Vera

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Critical incidents and waiting woosah
  • Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
  • Your website is your front desk
  • San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
  • Avoiding the road to burnout
  • National Police Week 2025
  • A look into National Police Week
  • Honoring Fallen Heroes
  • What’s with the white chairs?
  • The pain and sorrow of loss

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Off duty, but never off guard

Off duty, but never off guard

May 05, 2025

The tyranny of memories

The tyranny of memories

May 04, 2025

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

Meeting training needs on a limited budget

May 02, 2025

Empowering through experience

Empowering through experience

April 18, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.