Sheriff’s transit officers and fare inspectors normally patrol Metro trains and buses in search of troublemakers or people who don’t pay their fares.
But for Christmas they handed out toys to children who are spending the holiday in a Los Angeles hospital.
With 6-foot-7-inch fare inspector Jerry Rocha as Santa, dozens of deputies, security officers and fare inspectors acted like elves visiting the pediatric wards at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center Thursday, said transit policing spokesman Ramon Montenegro.
“Medical center staff and transit sheriff’s personnel alike were visibly moved by the reactions of the children,” Montenegro said. “Some who had not had a reason to smile in a long time did so when they got their gifts from Santa and his elves.”
Sheriff’s personnel had collected so many gifts there were enough left over to donate to several other hospitals and rescue missions, Montenegro said.
— City News Service