Hammonton NJ Police Fulfill 9-Year-Old's Dream of Being a Cop

The family of Christopher Sacco and the entire Hammonton community continue to mourn three years after his tragic passing. Hammonton Police have commemorated Christopher's death in a way that fulfills the 9-year-old's dream of becoming one of them.

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Christopher's life was cut short on April 26, 2018 when he died after a car accident.

But his lifelong dream of becoming a police officer didn't go unnoticed. A former Hammonton Police Officer named Charles Sbarra has never forgotten Christopher, who would tell him upon every encounter how he wanted to grow up to be a man in blue, too.

Sbarra, now a New Jersey State Park Police trooper, had an idea that he put in motion with the help of a woman named Diane Rogers, who reportedly draws memorial portraits for police departments and state police, according to 6abc.com.

Trooper Sbarra told 6abc.com, "there are a ton of questions we always ask ourselves...One of those questions was, 'What would he [CHRISTOPHER] look like as a police officer? I know if he was here and he got older, that would be his chosen profession." Sbarra describes Christopher as 'determined' and 'an old soul'.

Hammonton Police took remembering Christopher so much to heart they even initiated him as an honorary officer with a badge number of 99, which his mom Maryanne Templeton says was Christopher's youth football jersey number.

Templeton also tells 6abc that from the moment she lost her son, the whole Hammonton community has been there for her and never forgotten Christopher.

Maryanne, along with help from the Hammonton Police and the community, now runs a food pantry in memory of Christopher so he'll live on in a way by helping those in need.

Watch the full celebration of the life of Christopher Sacco below, courtesy of 6abc.com.

SOURCES: 6abc.com

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