An effort by local law enforcement to honor a former officer has prompted an outpouring of support from police officers across the country.

Officer Tom Mitchell was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011 and medically retired from the Chapel Hill Police Department after 16 years of service.

Friend and former colleague Officer Eric Dallin says the tumor has robbed Mitchell of his short-term memory, but not his love of the job.

“Tom suffers from some confusion sometimes,” says Dallin. “He still believes he’s in law enforcement, even though he has medically retired. He gets up and puts his uniform on to go to work, and his mother has to tell him, ‘You have the day off.'”

This month, after several medical setbacks, Mitchell was placed into hospice care. His mother told friends and family Mitchell had one request.

“She asked him what he wanted for Christmas,” says Dallin, “and he said he wanted ‘the police department.’ And of course, that kind of broke all of our hearts.”

Dallin put out a statewide call to find a way to make Mitchell’s wish come true.

“I thought to myself, how do we grant Tom the wish of giving him ‘the police department’ for Christmas?” says Dallin. “And, basically, we asked everybody in the state of North Carolina, all 100 counties, if they would share with Tom, something that is representative of the word ‘family,’ or something that represents their commitment to serving their communities.”

He says the response has been overwhelming. The department has received everything from patches and badges to blankets, helmets, and handcuff keys.

As the donations continue to pour in, word has spread nationwide, prompting law enforcement officials from across the country to send in mementos for Officer Mitchell.

Dallin says the family is honored by the outpouring of love.

“They are just, really, honored and speechless,” says Dallin. “There are just no words that can explain what that type of support means to a family that’s really struggling with the things that the Mitchell family is struggling with.”

Mitchell joined the Chapel Hill Police Department in 1995. Dallin was sworn in about two years later. He describes Mitchell as someone with a “giant heart,” who’s always among the first to make anyone feel welcome.

The police department is still collecting items, and Dallin says that officers will likely make multiple deliveries to the family in the coming days.

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