Boy calls 911 to report the Grinch's plans to steal Christmas
After watching several videos online about a Grinch who wanted to steal Christmas, concerned citizen TyLon Pittman, 5, did what he was told to do in an emergency situation: Call 911.
Pittman told a Mississippi dispatcher what he knew about the Grinch, and warned her to be on the lookout. The amused woman later wrote about their conversation on Facebook, in a post seen by Byram Police Officer Lauren Develle. She grew up loving the How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie, and knew she wanted to get in touch with Pittman. She stopped by his house on Saturday, much to the surprise of Pittman's family, who had no idea they lived with a junior crime stopper. Develle promised she'd catch the Grinch if she ever saw him, and Pittman, who wants to be a cop when he grows up, said if the Grinch had the nerve to show up at his house, he would call the police so they could "come back to my house and take him to jail."
Develle just so happened to find the Grinch in town on Monday, and joined by Pittman, the pair apprehended and placed him in a holding cell, the Clarion Ledger reports. Standing face to face with his nemesis, Pittman asked the Grinch why he was stealing Christmas; the perp responded by just shrugging his shoulders. Byram Police Chief Luke Thompson gave Pittman a Grinch doll, and offered him a future with the department. "When you turn 21, come back and I'm going to give you a job application, okay?" he said. Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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