‘I wanted to face evil with good’

Primo, also a South San Francisco resident, said he was compelled to personally right the wrong Lara suffered after witnessing the young boy struggle to comprehend the crime.

“I wanted to face evil with good,” said Primo, who showed up to Lara’s home with a new bike Friday, Aug. 11, the day after taking the report of the initial crime.

Primo said he was deeply satisfied by Lara’s enthusiasm and appreciation for receiving the gift.

“The happiness on his face was just great,” Primo said. “To experience that feeling, to see his happiness, was just unbelievable.”

The bike given to Lara previously belonged to Primo’s 16-year-old son Jordan, who did not use it very often. Primo said his teen was happy to donate his property to another community member who could appreciate it.

He said the gift served as a reminder of the great power that can be held by relatively small gestures.

“It’s just a bike, but to me, it meant more because of his happiness,” said Primo. “When you see a little kid like that, and this action — I don’t know if he had ever experienced that kind of thing before.”

Primo said he has never done this with a similar crime victim, but was inspired partially because school is beginning soon and he wanted Lara to start the year off on the right track.

“I thought I needed to do something to bring his spirit up, especially with the school year starting soon. I wanted him to have a good start to the year. So I went to my supervisor and asked if this was OK for me to do,” he said.

With the green light from his boss, Primo said he pulled the lightly-used bike from his garage and took it to Lara’s house, where the young boy had apparently spent the night before crying in devastation from his loss.

Primo said when he arrived at the home, he started asking questions for details on the theft case, then told Lara to stand by briefly while he retrieved something from his vehicle.

He returned with the new bicycle, and the boy’s spirits were immediately lifted, said Primo.

“I said ‘this is a gift from me to you guys, because I saw you were sad about this action,’” Primo said.

Primo said he did not expect to receive any admiration for offering the gift and was more called to action by the desire to improve the quality of life for those in his hometown.

“I seized the moment. It’s a good moment to make a difference in someone else’s life, and that was it,” he said.

Primo said the inspiration to commit good acts in the face of bad behavior fueled his decision to offer Lara the bike, as well as his approach to his work in law enforcement.

“I’m proud to be a part of the South San Francisco Police Department and that is how we take care of our community here,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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