The Lowell Police Union steps in to fix a student’s stolen vehicle

LOWELL — Faheem, a sophomore at Lowell High, is known as a positive kid who is well-liked by teachers and staff, according to Principal Timothy Sullivan. So when Faheem became the target of a recent crime, Sullivan and other officers were determined to help.

Sullivan recalled how a downtrodden Faheem approached him at school and explained that his electric scooter, his main form of transportation, had been stolen from school grounds.

Sullivan reviewed surveillance footage that captured the theft in progress.

“This person walked right onto the school property, took the lock off, immediately started the scooter and drove away,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he immediately recognized the suspect, a known downtown thief. Officers tracked down and arrested the suspect, but the scooter was long gone.

“He was down and depressed all day long,” Sullivan said of Faheem. “So I was trying to think of a way I could brighten this poor kid’s day.”

Sullivan discussed the unfortunate incident with another school resource officer, Jose Santiago, secretary of the Lowell Patrol Officers Association. Santiago, wanting to “turn something bad into something good”, contacted the union’s president, Danny Brito, about raising funds to buy a new scooter for Faheem.

Sullivan found the same model of scooter online and ordered it for just over $300 in union funds.

“We wanted to help this kid and remind him that we are here for him,” Brito said.

Sullivan gave Faheem a new scooter at school.

“I grabbed him and told him I had a surprise for him,” Sullivan said. “He was surprised. He couldn’t believe it.”

Sullivan noted that Faheem’s brother had also had his scooter stolen earlier, but they were able to track it down and return it to him.

This isn’t the first time the Lowell Police Department has intervened to replace a Lowell High student’s stolen transportation. Late last year, the Lowell Patrol Officers Association and the Lowell Police Superior Association tapped union funds buy an electric bike for then-sophomore Nam Phan, whose electric bicycle was stolen on Oct. 14, 2023, in Downtown Lowell while he spent a Saturday afternoon cleaning up trash.

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