Kind Arizona cops saved two-year-old girl’s birthday after scammers stole money dad planned to use to buy her a bike

DAILYMAIL.COM • 4h ago

By AISHA DIOMANDE 17:26 12 Oct 2026, updated 17:26 12 Oct 2026

Two Arizona police officers were hailed as heroes for saving a two-year-old girl’s birthday after a scammer stole her father’s hard-earned savings.

Officers Alessandro Figuccio and Tanner Schnieder responded to a frantic police log detailing a Phoenix father’s encounter with a fraudster.

The scammer called the dad, who worked as a DoorDash delivery driver, and reported a false ‘error’ in the system.

The caller claimed that his DoorDash account had been deactivated and directed him to reenter a code at a specific kiosk to reactivate it.

After following the instructions, he noticed that his last paycheck was gone.

When the officers then went to his home to learn more, the delivery driver wept as he explained his devastating circumstances.

‘He had mentioned that he had just paid rent and his car payment, and he had absolutely nothing left,’ according to Figuccio.

Figuccio then went on to tell AZ’s Family that the father’s two-year-old’s birthday was the following day and, due to the scam, he wasn’t able to afford a gift.

Police body cam footage showed Schnieder offering help to the heartbroken dad.

The father teared up as he said: ‘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,’ said Schnieder, who was described as a ‘lead officer’ and a ‘smooth talker’ by his partner.

‘He’s the smooth talker; I let him do his thing. He’s really good at talking to people,’ said Figuccio.

The officers arrived at the store and filled up their shopping carts with items that the dad requested.

The kindhearted officers said they started ‘throwing stuff in the cart’ for the little girl, including a very special gift: a bright pink bike 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.

‘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.

The Daily Mail reached out to the Phoenix Police Department and DoorDash for comment.

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