Ottawa police officers replace bike stolen from 8-year-old boy

Ottawa police officers in the Suburban West Neighbourhood Resource Team delivered a new bike to an 8-year-old boy whose bike was stolen Aug. 3, 2022. (Ottawa Police Service/Facebook)

A young Ottawa boy has a brand new bicycle, thanks to some Ottawa police officers in his neighbourhood.

The boy’s first bike was a gift through the Big Give charity, police said, but on Aug. 3 it was stolen from his Jockvale Road home.

The local neighbourhood resource team (NRT) was called in to search for it, but there weren’t many leads, police said in a Facebook post.

“Like most kids, he loves riding his bike, and it’s a big deal that he doesn’t have it anymore,” said one officer on the NRT.

“From the surveillance video, the person who stole it looks too big to be riding this bike and probably doesn’t know what he’s taken away from this boy.”

So, the officers decided to chip in together and buy the boy a new bike. They reached out to Luke Dagenais at the Canadian Tire Barrhaven, who police say generously provided a bike at cost, along with a helmet, lock, bell and light.

The new bike was delivered to the young boy on Wednesday.

“We registered the bike on 529 Garage, and this is a great reminder to all bike owners to register their bikes too,” police said.

529 Garage is a bike registration system that can help police return your bicycle if it is stolen.

Police urge residents to report suspicious activity immediately at 613-236-1222 and to report stolen property if they do fall victim to theft.