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YUKON, Okla. (CNN) — When Brayden Hubbard turned 3, his mom knew one thing for certain: there'd be cars. The boy with round cheeks and spiky hair loves them so much, it was a no-brainer that his party would have this theme.

Plates, cups, napkins and banners all printed with characters from the Disney movie "Cars" adorned the family's tidy suburban home in Yukon, Oklahoma. They looked ready, but mom Terra worried they'd be missing a crucial element — guests.

"Not many people were saying if they were going to come or not," she told CNN affiliate KFOR.

As Hubbard weighed canceling the party, someone knocked on her front door. Outside were members of Yukon's police department. At first she thought her luck had gone from bad to worse.

"They come up to my door, and you always think that's bad," Hubbard said.

But the officers came as invited guests. Unbeknownst to Terra, someone put a call into the department telling them, "There was this little boy with autism who was going to have a birthday party and asked if we could show up," Capt. Matt Hofer recalled.

Because the call came in during a shift change, a dozen of Yukon's finest turned up, posing for photos with Brayden and letting the birthday boy check out the inside of their cruisers. Hubbard tears up thinking about the gesture and how much it meant to her boy.

"They have important jobs. It's scary for them to go to work right now, and just for them to come say hi to Brayden, just to tell him happy birthday, it means a lot."

Hofer says even if the 3-year-old forgets, his mother will always remember.

"As a parent, you want the best for your kids, and especially a parent with special needs," Hofer told KFOR. "We were able to provide that to her. We were able to provide just a moment of normalcy, I guess."

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