Two Arizona police officers have been praised for stepping in to save a two-year-old girl’s birthday after a scam wiped out her father’s hard-earned savings.
Officers Alessandro Figuccio and Tanner Schnieder answered a frantic call in Phoenix involving a father who had fallen victim to a DoorDash-related fraud scheme.
The father, who earned his living as a DoorDash delivery driver, received a call from someone falsely claiming there was an error with his account.
The caller told him his DoorDash account had been deactivated and instructed him to enter a code into a particular kiosk to restore access.
Once he followed the instructions, the driver discovered that his latest paycheck had disappeared.
When Figuccio and Schnieder visited his home to investigate, the distraught father broke down while describing what had happened.
“He had mentioned that he had just paid rent and his car payment, and he had absolutely nothing left,” Figuccio said.
Figuccio later told AZ’s Family that the man’s two-year-old daughter was celebrating her birthday the next day. After losing his money to the scam, he could no longer afford to buy her a present.
Phoenix Officer Alessandro Figuccio is among the two Arizona officers praised for helping rescue a two-year-old girl’s birthday after a scammer stole her father’s savings
Officer Tanner Schnieder, described by his partner as a “lead officer” and a “smooth talker,” helped comfort the family
Our News Outlet contacted the Phoenix Police Department and DoorDash seeking comment
Body camera video captured Schnieder offering to help the devastated father.
“Do you want to follow us to the store, and I can get your daughter some stuff and say it was from you?”
The emotional father wiped away tears before replying, “I’d appreciate that.”
“I want to take care of it. I don’t want you to feel like you are all alone in this because you are not,” Schnieder told him. Figuccio later described his colleague as a “lead officer” and a “smooth talker.”
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“He’s the smooth talker; I let him do his thing. He’s really good at talking to people,” Figuccio said.
The officers then accompanied the father to a store, where they loaded their carts with the items he chose for his daughter.
The officers bought the child a memorable birthday present: a bright pink bicycle
The scammer falsely claimed the father’s DoorDash account had been deactivated and told him to enter a code at a kiosk to reactivate it
The officers recalled “throwing stuff in the cart” for the little girl, including a standout gift—a bright pink bicycle complete with tassels.
Although she isn’t old enough to ride it yet, the officers hope she will use it in the future.
‘We’re like, dude, if I was his kid’s daughter, I’d be happy as heck,’ Schnieder said.
‘Then we just started throwing stuff in the cart,’ he added.
They then paid for the haul using their own money.
‘It’s rewarding,’ Figuccio said.
‘Yeah, times are tough; stuff gets expensive, but at the end of the day, if I were in that position, which I have been before with my family, if someone’s there to help and they can, they will,’ Schnieder added.
The two officers loaded the gifts into their car and gave them to the father.
The dad was full of emotion upon seeing the gifts, saying, ‘I’m going to cry,’ before asking if he could give the officers a hug.
Our News Outlet reached out to the Phoenix Police Department and DoorDash for comment.
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