LOWELL — It was Saturday, Oct. 14, when Lowell High School sophomore Nam Phan spent an afternoon helping with a cleanup in downtown Lowell, only to finish the cleanup and realize his electric bike had been stolen from where he left it locked up with a bike lock.
Left with just the broken remains of his bike lock, Phan, who is in the ROTC at Lowell High, thought he was out of an expensive e-bike that is his primary means of getting to school, work, wrestling practice and home.
“I was so angry because that day I had to walk home,” Phan said.
But City Manager Tom Golden’s office heard about the theft, and reached out to the Lowell Police Officer’s Union and the Lowell Police Superior Officer’s Union. The unions, led by Lt. Aidan O’Donnell and Officer Timothy Roussell, decided to use union funds to buy Phan a new bike — of the exact same make and model that was stolen.
“Young people like Nam are an asset to our community,” Officer Roussell said. “He’s displayed a good attitude and a positive work ethic, and he was giving back to the community when he had something bad happen to him. We felt it was important to show him that good things happen to good people.”
On Tuesday, School Resource Officers from Lowell High School escorted Phan to Lowell Police Headquarters, where he was gifted the new bike and thanked for his work to help clean up the city.
“The men and women of Lowell Police Department invest in the City’s youth on a regular basis, so when City Manager Golden’s office reached out to tell us about this young man’s e-bike being stolen while he was volunteering his time to clean up his city, it was a no brainer,” said Lt. O’Donnell.
“I was not expecting this,” said Phan. “But these guys came out and did all this for me and I’m really grateful.”