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RCMP, Local Police Help Iowa Teen Rebuild His Destroyed Card Collection

The teenager lost his father on Labour Day weekend.
Officers from Kansas City, Kansas Police Department collecting business cards to give to a family of a late police officer from Iowa on Oct. 25, 2017.
KMBC News
Officers from Kansas City, Kansas Police Department collecting business cards to give to a family of a late police officer from Iowa on Oct. 25, 2017.

RCMP and police officers from across the country are rallying together to give one heck of a gift to a teenager from Iowa.

The brothers in blue are joining U.S. law enforcement to replace a destroyed card collection belonging to the family of a late police officer.

This past Labour Day weekend, Anamosa police officer Mitchell Kelchen was killed when a car hopped a median, resulting in a head-on collision with his car.

Officer Kelchen was only with the Anamosa Police Department for about a year, but more than 200 local and state law enforcement officers came to the funeral to show their solidarity, according to The Telegraph Herald. The police decorated an entire vehicle with flowers and banners before the service.

The Anamosa Police Department decked out this vehicle honoring officer Mitch Kelchen in Anamosa, Iowa on Sept. 8, 2017.
The Anamosa Police Department/Facebook
The Anamosa Police Department decked out this vehicle honoring officer Mitch Kelchen in Anamosa, Iowa on Sept. 8, 2017.

To show that they would be there for the family, police officers gave out their business cards at the funeral, KMBC News reported.

On Sept. 2, 2017, Anamosa Police Officer Mitchell Kelchen was killed in a head-on collision near Bellevue, Iowa in Jackson County.
Anamosa Police Department/ Facebook
On Sept. 2, 2017, Anamosa Police Officer Mitchell Kelchen was killed in a head-on collision near Bellevue, Iowa in Jackson County.

The family's eldest son was thrilled with the outpouring of support for his father and took the card collection to show his class. But once at the school, a bully grabbed the entire collection and tore them all up.

But don't give up on humanity just yet.

As news of what happened spread, officers from Iowa and neighbouring states sent the family even more business cards to replace the boy's original collection.

Now, Canadian officers are stepping up too.

"We are joining other police services and sending as many of our business cards as possible to this boy to help re-build his collection," the Peterborough Police Service said in a Facebook post on Oct. 17.

Not to be outdone, members of the RCMP made sure that the boy had their cards too.

RCMP Const. Billy Gossen of Coronach, Sask. was inspired by the post from Peterborough, Ont. and their card collection drive for the Kelchen family.

RCMP honouring officers who died in the line of duty on Victoria on June 10, 2014.
Getty Images
RCMP honouring officers who died in the line of duty on Victoria on June 10, 2014.

"This was a no-brainer, this is the least thing that a police officer can do for this young guy, especially when it means so much to him," Const. Gossen told Discover Weyburn.

"So what I did was I just start contacting members within the RCMP," he said, mentioning that he's gotten to know many officers across the country.

"I just sent out a couple emails, so far I've got a lot of responses and by the sound of it I've got a lot of business cards coming my way," he said.

If you're a police officer or know someone interested in sharing a business card, mail it to this address:

Manchester Police Department

208 E Main Street

Manchester, IA 52057

Att: Officer Comer

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