"Wow!" Woman with special needs gets birthday surprise from police

Ever since she was little, Amiene McLeroy has been drawn to things that make loud noises — fire trucks, airplanes, monster trucks, police cars, you name it. 

"She was born with hearing loss so she's always been attracted to things that are loud and flashy," Amiene's dad, John McLeroy, told CBS News. "But she's always been very excited about the police. She thinks they're just the coolest people in the world."

So on Amiene's 29th birthday, her family thought it would be fitting to surprise her with a visit from the local police department.

Her uncle, David McLeroy, arranged for two officers from the Norcross Police Department in Georgia to drop by a birthday party they were hosting last Saturday.

"They pulled up toward the end of the party," John said. "She had to walk out there for a minute before she grasped the full situation, then she started to tear and the rest of us started tearing up."

Amiene's face lit up as the police parked their SUV in the driveway with their siren on.

"Wow! Woohoo! Oh my God! Oh yeah!" she said as she walked over to greet them.

She put her arms around the officers as she posed for pictures.

"They were about her age," John said. "She thought they were the cutest things in the world — you couldn't have planned it any better."

The officers congratulated Amiene on her birthday as she inspected their shiny car.

"Can I go for a ride?" Amiene asked.

"Yeah. You want to go?" one officer asked.

"Let's do it," another officer replied.

She took a ride around the neighborhood, tested out some of their equipment and even got her own badge. Before they left, the officers gave Amiene a birthday shout-out over their P.A. system.

It was the perfect ending to a perfect visit that will go down in history as one of the best presents Amiene has ever received, John said.

"It's the cutest thing about special needs people. They're not ashamed. They're not shy. It's totally out there in the open," he added. "She was just like, 'They're my best buddies.' She's so honest."

Amiene's cousin, Ashley Nelson, shared a two-minute video of the emotional encounter on Facebook, and it went viral with more than 35,000 views.

"This is very sweet it warms my heart," one Facebook user commented.

"Made my heart smile. Something she'll remember forever," another added.

John was happy to share his daughter's joyous reaction.

"I always wanted people to see her and be happy so they would be more accepting and not intimidated by special needs adults like I was when i was young. I let people see her," he said. "Sometimes she's silly, but I don't want to hide her. She's got a great life. My object is always for her to have a full life and be happy and exuberant, and that's what she is."

Now John just has to worry about how he's going to top this.

"This thing is starting a trend. What's it going to be next year — a fire truck?" McLeroy joked.