It’s never to late to do the right thing: A California grandfather who stole handcuffs from a cop when he was a teenager has returned them 60 years later.
The 74-year-old man from Vista penned a letter to the Los Angeles Police Department last month saying he felt guilty every time he saw the handcuffs.
The man explained he was a teenager living in Van Nuys when he saw a scuffle break out between an LAPD juvenile officer and a “young ruffian” at a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant, according to the letter shared by police on Thursday.
During the scuffle, the officer’s handcuffs came loose and slid across the floor, landing at his feet. He picked them up and kept them ever since.
The man realized he had to return the cuffs after he told his grandsons, ages 6 and 9, the story.
“They were aghast and asked me why I stole the handcuffs from a policeman.
“I, of course, had no good explanation and I told them it was the wrong thing to do and I wasn’t proud of it and then I danced around the subject,” the letter says.
The guilt-ridden grandfather ended the letter saying, “I am sincerely sorry.”
In addition to the letter and handcuffs, he also sent the cops a $100 donation.
“This was no ordinary letter. It was a life lesson over 60 years in the making, from a grandfather to his grandkids—that it’s never too late to do the right thing,” the LAPD tweeted.
