Valenti offered to pay $150 of his own money for a gym membership, instead of arresting the kid. He said he’d rather have the boy shooting hoops instead of “being on the street and possibly getting into trouble”.

 "It seems like all that's represented (in the news) with police is the bad stuff, and it's a shame, because when I took this job 23 years ago, I didn't think everyone was going to hate you, which is sometimes the feeling you get as a police officer," Valenti told the Chicago Tribune.