Girl whose father was killed in line of duty pays for Jamesburg police officer’s dinner

<p>An 8-year-old girl from Monroe is being praised by the Jamesburg Police Department after the girl secretly paid for an officer’s dinner. Mikayla Raji struck up a conversation with Jamesburg Police Officer Joseph Quinn while the two were dining at Villa Borghese in Helmetta. Mikayla then secretly asked her mother if they could pay for the officer’s meal. “She has a huge heart, this little one,” says Mikayla’s mother, Mimi Raji. Police officers have a sp...</p>

News 12 Staff

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Apr 25, 2017, 3:04 AM

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Updated 2,768 days ago

Girl whose father was killed in line of duty pays for Jamesburg police officer’s dinner

An 8-year-old girl from Monroe is being praised by the Jamesburg Police Department after the girl secretly paid for an officer’s dinner.

Mikayla Raji struck up a conversation with Jamesburg Police Officer Joseph Quinn while the two were dining at Villa Borghese in Helmetta. Mikayla then secretly asked her mother if they could pay for the officer’s meal.

“She has a huge heart, this little one,” says Mikayla’s mother, Mimi Raji.

Police officers have a special place in Mikayla’s heart because both of her parents were police officers. Her father, Thomas Raji, was killed by a drunken driver while he was on duty in Perth Amboy, right before Mikayla was born. He remains the only officer killed in the line of duty in Perth Amboy.

“[Mikayla] looks up to [police officers]. She knows their job is hard,” says Mimi Raji. “She knows they put their lives on the line for us."

After hearing about what Mikayla did for one of his officers, Jamesburg Police Chief James Craparotta says that he wants to do something special for her.

“It actually brought a tear to my eye today,” he says. “We want to ask [Mikayla] if [she’d] be our honorary member to lead our parade on Memorial Day this year.”

The department also started a GoFundMe page for Mikayla to help pay for her education as she gets older. Craparotta says that it’s not repayment, it’s just a way to pay the selfless act forward.

Information about the GoFundMe page for Mikayla can be found on the department’s Facebook page.