When Laila Park, owner of Mizumi Restaurant in Sandy, called the police to report the theft of her snow blower from her business on April 29, she got more than she bargained for. 

Park told the responding officer, Christina Kaer, that this was the first time in eight years she had ever had a problem of this nature, and that she now felt uneasy leaving the restaurant at night. 

Officer Kaer noticed the rear of the property: overgrown, lush with unruly vegetation, which offered perfect concealment for those with nefarious intentions. 

Due to personal circumstance, Park was unable to keep up with the landscape maintenance, she said. 

Kaer empathized with Park’s situation and she wanted to help.Environmental design as part of crime prevention isn’t a new idea, and Kaer felt that clearing the property would help lessen the chance of this type of theft from happening again. 

Kaer solicited some resources, as well as her fellow officers, and on their day off went to Mizumi restaurant and began the laborious task of clearing the overgrown vegetation. 

“The unfortunate negative publicity about police has cast a shadow on the good work being done on a daily basis by police officers around the country,” Sgt. Dean Carriger said. “The Mizumi Restaurant project in Sandy was an example of the dedicated work being done by good officers serving the community they work in.”

The charitable actions of Kaer and her co-workers is the reflection of the idea that the police should be involved in the community as a part of it, not separate from it. 

Sgt. Carriger is proud of this service project, and even more proud of the officers he serves with.  

 “The Sandy Police Department operates under the ideals of ‘community-oriented policing’,” he said. “Officer Kaer’s actions were not a simple case of exceptional service, but an example of what good police officers always do; Officer Kaer is one of those good police officers.”