Ten-year-old Colin Hayward Toland touched many lives in his too-short-on-Earth life. This week, police officers from the Ithaca, New York police department escorted their honorary fellow officer to his final resting place.
When Toland was just two-years-old, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. After two brain surgeries and several doses of powerful chemotherapy drugs, Toland was cancer-free.
He remained cancer-free for four years. 20 months ago, the cancer came back. Toland has undergone multiple brain surgeries to “buy some more time.”
Following recent protests, Toland decided he wanted to be a police officer when he grew up. Toland told his parents he just wanted to “love everybody” and that he “wouldn’t be good at catching bad guys.” He’s rather read bedtime stories to inmates, instead.
When Toland was 9, the Ithaca Police Department made him an honorary member of the force.
The department even hosted a large swearing-in ceremony and presented Toland with his own badge and personalized police duffel bag. 150 police officers and 300 members of the public attended his swearing in ceremony.
Sadly, this week Toland lost his battle with brain cancer.
The Ithaca Police Department honored Toland as one of their own. On Saturday, Toland received a full Police Honor Guard service and and an escort back to the Ithaca area.
“Colin was able to show us a multitude of positive things that we’re going to be able to take with us and carry in his honor and his memory,” Ithaca Police Chief Pete Tyler said.
