OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. — On Monday, Olive Branch police officers took their call to serve to the next level by making birthday dreams come true for an 11-year-old boy with special needs.

Ryley Foster took a ride with officers, but there’s no way he could have guessed what all was in store for him.

“He was one of us, and we looked at him as one of us as well,” Captain Kevin Mckenzie, with The Olive Branch Police Department, said. Captain Mckenzie and Officer Tre Price said surprising Foster was just one of many kind gestures going on in the Community Relations Division. “The love that God has for all of us, we wanted to share that with the community,” Officer Price said.

Chief Don Gammage and Mayor Scott Phillips welcomed Foster to the force just as they would any other officer, with an official ceremony. “We told him he had a 12-hour shift. He said he was the boss,” Mayor Phillips said.

Foster was given a custom-made police uniform that came with a name plate. Of course gifts and cake was also involved. “He ate his cake, and he was ready to go to work,”

Foster wasn’t the only one who had a smile on his face. “We received more of a blessing just by seeing his joy. He was proud to be a part of the family. That’s for sure,”

This isn’t the first community initiative put on by The Olive Branch Police Department. It’s just one of their many efforts to unite the city that they serve.