‘His memory is living on’: Teddy bears donated to police honor infant who died 10 years ago
An anonymous donor gifted the Elk City Police Department 50 teddy bears in honor of a baby who died 10 years ago.
By Olivia Hickey
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ELK CITY, Oklahoma (KOCO) — An anonymous donor gifted the Elk City Police Department 50 teddy bears in honor of a baby who died 10 years ago.
Thanks to the kindness of strangers, every time an Elk City police officer is called to a scene with children, they can now remember the life of Berit “Bear” McAbee with a special stuffed animal.
“His name is Berit, which means protection of the Lord in Hebrew. I picked that name specifically for him, because I wanted him to always be protected, and little did I know he was going to be protected in eternity forever,” Annie Bliss, Berit’s mom, said.
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In March 2015, Berit died after an allergic reaction to vaccines. He was 2 months old.
A decade later, an anonymous community member honored her child with a special gift to the Elk City Police Department.
“It goes to show the amount of care the community has for other community members,” John Cook, assistant police chief for Elk City, said.
Cook said the teddy bears are already in police cruisers, ready to comfort children. He said the animals will be a big help when answering calls.
“It lets the child know our officer isn’t there to be mean, that he is there to help,” Cook said.
While Bliss had limited time with her baby Bear, she said she is proud that Berit continues to make a big impact on her community.
“It’s crazy to imagine what he may be like, but I can’t wait to get to heaven and see him there,” Bliss said. “It makes me so happy and so proud. He may have passed away, and he may not be here physically with us, but his memory is living on, and it’s going to be passed on to these other kids, so that they can have something to comfort them in horrible situations.”
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