LAPD Makes Sick Boy's Wish Come True With Mock Pursuit, Helicopter Ride

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A little boy who's struggled with illness his entire life got to live out his dream Thursday and experience life as an LAPD officer.

"We were just spinning around in a cop car and I got to arrest a suspect," 8-year-old Noah Cohen gushed to CBS2/KCAL9's Kristine Lazar after he was taken on a mock pursuit at the police training facility.

The day started with a patrol car simulator and then moved to a track, where officers switched on the sirens and took the boy on a high-speed reenactment of a car chase.

Cohen was riding in the front seat when he experienced a PIT maneuver, spinning out on a slick road, before screeching to a halt.

It's what Cohen pictured the many times spent back in Vermont watching one of his favorite TV shows, the '70s hit "Emergency!" The series was filmed in L.A. and Cohen told his parents he dreamed of seeing it for himself.

The Make A Wish Foundation made that dream a reality. They flew Cohen and his parents on Wednesday to LAX, where the boy received a hero's welcome from firefighters, sheriff's deputies and airport police.

"It's incredibly emotional," his mother Amy Cohen said. "Noah is a great kid and he's gone through a lot so it's pretty moving to just see so much preparation and attention and anticipation just based on the things that he really loves."

The boy has VACTERL association, a rare condition which prevents his organs from functioning. He's endured 24 surgeries so far.

Cohen's father said Thursday, "This morning, he woke up at six o'clock and said 'I'm ready to go!' And I said, 'Well, the car doesn't get here until 8:30.' And he said, 'I'm ready now!'"

After the mock pursuit, Cohen got to meet the LAPD's elite SWAT team and Chief Charlie Beck.

The day ended on a high-note with a ride on an LAPD airship.

"How's it going to be to go home? Are you going to miss L.A.?" Lazar asked Cohen.

The boy replied with a grin, "I might, actually."