Community Cares: Law Enforcement Unites to Replace OCPS Student’s Stolen Bike

After a 14-year-old OCPS student had his bike stolen outside his school, law enforcement stepped in to get him a brand-new one.

OCPS District Police Sergeant Robert Bobay is assigned to Acceleration East High School. On Sept. 1, just before school was to let out for the Labor Day holiday weekend, Sgt. Bobay was dealing with a serious incident at the school when someone walked onto campus and stole ninth-grader Iam Garzon’s bicycle.

The theft was caught on the school’s security cameras.

“He looks at the bikes. He saw the one that was unlocked. He looked in the windows here, takes the bike and just rides off,” Sgt. Bobay said.

By Samantha Weiss

Iam and his dad, who are from Colombia, met with Sgt. Bobay after school.

“I told the father, ‘I’ll see if I can get you a bike. I don’t know if I can.’” The incident left Iam without his primary mode of transportation to and from school, prompting him to borrow his brother’s bike in the meantime.

The sad story took a positive turn when Sgt. Bobay made a few calls and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office stepped up to generously donate a brand-new bike to Iam!

Just days after Iam’s bike was stolen, he was called down to the office. He was greeted by Sgt. Bobay and OCPS Police Commander David Rinehart and given a Hyper Mountain bike, lock, and helmet.

“All I can say is thank you,” Iam said. “This bike looks really cool.” The kind gesture not only provided him with a new means of transportation. It also demonstrated how an OCPS employee can positively influence the life of a student by going the extra mile.