Ethan Hierro, 5, was diagnosed with glioblastoma about 16 months ago
A 5-year-old New York boy is not going to let his incurable brain cancer stop him from living his dream.
On Tuesday, Ethan Hierro became an officer with the Tarrytown Police Department with an official swearing-in ceremony.
Chief John Barbelet tells PEOPLE it all began three weeks ago with an email from Ethan’s elementary school principal detailing the 5-year-old’s condition and a special request.
“‘He has some wishes,'” he recalls the email saying, sharing that one of those wishes was to be a police officer. “So right then I said, ‘Okay, we got to look into this.'”
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Ethan Hierro with the Tarrytown Police Department.
TARRYTOWN PD/X
According to News 12 Westchester, Ethan has dreamed of becoming a police officer since he was 3.
But about 16 months ago, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common type of malignant brain tumor for adults with no cure, per the Cleveland Clinic. He is now receiving treatment in Tennessee, per the report.
“It changed our lives 100%,” mom Isabel Estevez told the station, saying she’s “always scared of what’s going to happen.”
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Ethan’s mom — who has two other kids to support and has had to leave her job, according to Barbelet — started a GoFundMe campaign to help the family in the wake of his diagnosis.
In Estevez’s fundraiser, which has already raised over $19,000, she described Ethan as a “brave, strong kid who isn’t giving in to this disease.”
“We are putting our faith in God (and “Cheeses”) that our little guy wins this fight, and we would love to give him tons of beautiful memories,” she wrote in a moving message. “With your prayers, you can be part of this village to raise Ethan, to save him, and to give him peace and painless moments.”
And the police department came out in full force for the 3-year-old to help Ethan fulfill his dream.
“We picked him up with a police escort, our motorcycle, probably eight or nine marked units,” the chief tells PEOPLE. “We put a booster seat in one of our police cars, so his two sisters and him rode in the back, his mom rode in the front, and we brought him down to the police station in his uniform, lights, and sirens.”
“I only have 34 sworn officers. I probably had 15 or 16 here, full uniform on their days off, away from their families,” Barbelet adds.
Ethan was then sworn in by Mayor Karen Brown “just like a real police officer,” Barbelet says.
After taking the police oath and being provided with a shield and other gifts, the 5-year-old got to try his hand at a number of cop experiences, from making arrests to answering phone calls — and he was also given his very own electric police car.
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It was not only a moving experience for Barbelet, but according to the chief, it highlighted an important lesson.
“This is a part of policing,” he says. “This is a part of giving to your community.”