Strongsville Police Officer Rescues Family Movie Night, Buys a Family Ice Cream

STRONGSVILLE, OH - When family movie night goes awry, it takes an act of extraordinary kindness to repair the evening. Luckily, that's exactly what one Strongsville family got.

Family movie night is usually a reason for excitement. The family piles into the car and you jet up to the local theater. You settle on Moana, the Disney animated movie about a teenager in Maui and her quest to save her people.

Then things get weird.

There's a guy in the theater alone and he keeps pacing around and you think you see him eyeballing everyone else in the auditorium. Luckily, that theater has a police officer patrolling the halls on that particular Saturday night.

For the Petrick family, this wasn't hypothetical. It was how their Saturday night at the SouthPark Mall Cinemark unfolded.

"We went to the 8 p.m. showing and I just thought this man was behaving very strangely," Rachel Petrick said. "He was pacing around the theater, pacing behind these teenagers. It was very strange."

Rachel tapped her husband on the shoulder and told him to go alert the officer. Strongsville Police Officer Brian Vlna was working a side job at the theater that night. He said he saw the man entering the theater and noted that he appeared to have a problem with his leg.

After Jack Petrick talked to Vlna, the officer walked into the theater and pulled the pacing man aside. They spoke amicably and the man explained his situation. Still, to ensure everyone was comfortable Vlna stuck around in the auditorium.

"I wanted to make sure everyone knew I was there," Vlna said. "I wanted them to be comfortable."

After the movie, Vlna spoke to the Petricks in the lobby.

"We stepped out after the movie and we thanked him," Rachel said. "We were walking out after the movie and he asked if we wanted to go get ice cream."

Rachel said she was initially unsure if Mitchell's was even open, but the ice cream shop's lights were on. So they followed the officer in and chatted with him in line. He ordered a milkshake and then the Petricks and their 8 and 5-year-olds ordered their treats.

As Jack went to pay, the cashier waved him off. "It's already been paid for," the cashier said. Officer Vlna had bought the entire family a post-movie ice cream treat.

The Petricks' two children were elated. "They were very happy, they were thrilled," Rachel said. "This was the first time we've experienced something like this."

Vlna, a 16-year-veteran of the force, is becoming something of a Strongsville folk hero. In July 2016, he lent his Vitamix to a 4-year-old girl with a rare disease. The girl had difficulty chewing her food and received most of her nutrients through a feeding tube in her stomach. The girl's family forgot to pack their high-powered blender for the trip and was searching for a store that might be open so they could rush to buy one. When Vlna overheard their plight, he quickly had his Vitamix brought down and let them use it for the duration of their trip.

Now he's being hailed as something of a hero on Strongsville Facebook pages for his actions on Saturday night. He's squeamish about the attention though.

"That's not why I do it. For me, personally it's all about the safety of the kids," he said.

Photo from Shutterstock