A spare police cruiser in Parma, Ohio, acquired an unexpected assignment in 2016: protecting a dove’s nest.
The bird had settled near the base of the windshield. Officers left the nest in place and sheltered the vehicle with an umbrella, turning a parked car into an unusually conspicuous nesting site.
A spare cruiser became a refuge
Contemporary coverage identified the bird as Gerty. Officers placed police tape around the car to discourage people from disturbing it and provided shade and protection from rain.
Good News Network’s June 2016 account described the cruiser as a backup vehicle. That detail helps explain how the department could leave it parked without withdrawing a frontline car from urgent duty.
Reporting published in May linked the story to photographs shared in late April and comments from Parma police spokesman Kevin Riley. The images had already attracted attention before later summer retellings appeared.
A small act that traveled widely
The memorable part of the story is a practical decision. Officers had a vehicle they could temporarily spare and chose to keep a nesting bird undisturbed.
Some accounts also describe food and water being offered. Those details should not be treated as general wildlife-care instructions; different birds have different needs.
The umbrella and police tape provided the enduring image: equipment normally associated with public safety arranged around a small nest. A routine parking space briefly became a place where leaving something alone was the department’s chosen response.