Florida Officers Surprise Pint-Size Fan at Police-Themed Birthday Party

Brody Barnaky was greeted by four uniformed officers.

ByABC News
January 23, 2017, 4:05 PM

— -- A 4-year-old boy who loves his local police department got a big surprise Sunday when four uniformed officers crashed his birthday party.

Brody Barnaky was greeted by Sgt. Tom Rodgers, Officer Justin Murray, Officer Scott Penna and Officer Tomislav Marjanovic and was even given a police flag as a gift.

"When they came walking, in [Brody] ran up and jumped into one of the officer's arms," mom Tiffany Barnaky of Safety Harbor, Florida, told ABC News. "They were the nicest men. They were so good with the kids. They took them out to the cars, hugged [Brody], they compared muscles, they were absolutely the sweetest officers. The fact that they all wanted to come and do that was just amazing."

Since last year, Brody has admired police officers, Barnaky, 35, said.

"Every time we are in contact with a police officer, he asks for my phone and pulls up the pictures of Halloween to show them that he was an officer," she said. "I asked him what kind of party he wanted and he said, 'A police officer party at a bowling alley.'"

Two weeks before the celebration, Barnaky contacted the Clearwater Police Department to invite an officer to the party at Countryside Lanes in Clearwater for cake.

PHOTO: Brody Barnaky, 4, was surprised by four uniformed officers of the Clearwater Police Department at his Jan. 22 police-themed birthday party in Florida.
Brody Barnaky, 4, was surprised by four uniformed officers of the Clearwater Police Department at his Jan. 22 police-themed birthday party in Florida.

"He [the PIO] said, as long as the world behaves itself, someone would come by," Barnaky said. "Four officers were able to come by. We were completely blown away."

Rodgers told ABC News that he was happy to carve out some time to meet Brody, who was wearing an "Officer Brody" T-shirt.

"Once he saw us, his face just lit up," Rodgers told ABC News. "It was the cutest thing ... he ran up, I grabbed him, picked him up and he had no hesitation at all."

PHOTO: Brody Barnaky, 4, was surprised by four uniformed officers of the Clearwater Police Department at his Jan. 22 police-themed birthday party in Florida.
Brody Barnaky, 4, was surprised by four uniformed officers of the Clearwater Police Department at his Jan. 22 police-themed birthday party in Florida.

Rodgers and his squadmates showed Brody the police cars and even let him speak over the PA system.

Barnaky said she couldn’t be more grateful for the kindness shown to her son.

"I think that's why he's fallen in love with them," she said. "The importance of their job to protect the community is what we're showing him. That's why he wants to be a police officer."