It’s always scary to have the cops scaling behind you, but sometimes it can be for a positive reason like to receive good citizen “positive tickets,” or even frozen turkeys during Thanksgiving.
A mother in Independence, Missouri, was scared when Officer Joe Holt came up to her in a grocery store parking lot, following her son, but the message was a good one concerning her son.
Officer Holt saw a young man remove his jacket to shield an elderly woman walking to her car in the pouring rain. He made sure she was safe in her car, then went back to the van where his mother was waiting. It was too much for Officer Holt to just let the incident go past him.
“She teared up pretty good,” Holt said of the boy’s mother. He continued, “It was a moment between the both of us. I mean, I teared up a little bit. I told her that I was very impressed with him and that he should be proud.”
This photo was taken by Officer Holt over the weekend and he wrote this:
“Kinda long but I’m touched by this kid.
So…
Posted by Independence Police Department on Monday, August 26, 2019
Officer Holt also shared the encounter on Facebook to spread hope and cheer among people. “Kinda long but I’m touched by this kid,” he wrote in a post that was shared by the Independence Police Department. “So today I experienced something that actually set me back a little. It didn’t set me back because i was shocked but because I got to witness it first hand.”
“With all the hate fueled by color, belief, sexual preference or race it actually pisses me off,” the post continued. “Why, because most of it is based off what they read in the papers. Most isn’t based-off personal experiences.”
He added, “This young black male (teen) exited the backseat of a van he was in while it was pouring rain took his coat off and protected this elderly white female from the environment the best he could all the way to her car. He then walked back to his car all while not saying a word to his Auntie or Mom when he exited or re-entered.”
“I followed him to the van and approached the driver who was his mom. I told this young man I was impressed and he should be proud because I was. His mom had no idea what was happening, because she thought she had done something wrong since I was in uniform.” He continued saying the teen, “cared less about race, religion or color” and that “the only thing this kid cared about was being kind.”
He also said he would like to buy the teen dinner or help him out in any way. “Kiddo If you see me on the street again this guy owes ya a dinner,” he concluded. “You ever need anything I will come running to ya.” He said, “With as much love that kid displayed that day, that kid could go places and I think he could set an example for what society needs to be,” Holt said. “He’s the hero. I’m just the photographer in this situation.”
With all the problems with racism and hatred towards the police in this country, this story shines like a bright light in the darkness. We really wish the young boy could join the police force one day, because, we need more kindness and compassion among our officers.