While filming one of the final episodes of season 25 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in New York City on April 10, Hargitay, 60, was approached by a little girl who believed her to be a real police officer based on the badge she wore as part of her character’s outfit. 

A witness tells PEOPLE that the little girl had been separated from her mother in the Anne Loftus Playground in Fort Tryon Park and enlisted Hargitay for help. The actress obliged, halting production for 20 minutes to help the child locate her mother and to console them both. 

The little girl was completely oblivious to the film crew — and to Hargitay’s scene partner, Ice-T — the witness notes, as she believed Hargitay to be an on-duty police officer.