The best gift at Cesar Martinez’s birthday party wasn’t in wrapping paper — it was in uniform.
If you ask the Phoenix 4-year-old what he wants to be when he grows up, his response is immediate: “A police,” he told ABC15.
On Sunday, while celebrating at his police-themed party, three Phoenix officers stopped by to surprise him.
They turned on the lights and sirens and let Cesar sit in the driver's seat of their cruiser before leaving with a fist-bump and a “see you soon.”
“It was really nice that they actually did take some time,” said Cesar’s mother, Silvia Martinez. “You don’t expect that to happen.”
Before the party, Silvia said her sister called the non-emergency number to see if an officer could stop by but never heard back. When the trio showed up on the day of the party, family members first thought someone filed a noise complaint.
“Everybody was like, 'Oh my god, they’re going to turn the music off because the DJ’s too loud,'” Silvia said, before quickly realizing that wasn't the case.
They were there for Cesar.
“As soon as he saw them he just jumped off the water slide and started his way off to greet them — and he got very excited about it,” she said.
Silvia said Cesar has been fascinated with first responders since his first Halloween. He has dressed as a police officer twice and firefighter once.
