We’ve seen a lot of images in the past few weeks that are disheartening and damning. Our social media feeds have been filled with angst an...
We’ve seen a lot of images in the past few weeks that are disheartening and damning. Our social media feeds have been filled with angst and suffering, and some days feel like they might be the end days.
But every once in a while, a photo comes along that brings hope to people. Someone will catch a brief moment of humanity and find it heartwarming, and then share it to show that there is still some good in this world.
For many, that photo happens to be of a situation that took place on June 1, when a young girl approached a group of police officers who were all geared up and standing in front of a freeway on-ramp in San Diego.
While her side of the story goes unspoken, one of the officers at the scene told KSWB-TV what he experienced in the exchange.
He seemed to be prepared for such a meeting, as though he was decked out in riot gear, he apparently also had stickers in his pocket.
“She came around with a smile and I took the opportunity… I reached in my pocket,” the California Highway Patrol officer, Mitchell Byrd, said. “I had some stickers on me, and I said, ‘Hey, do you want a sticker?'”
“Her dad, just before that, had told us, ‘Oh, she wants to be a police officer.'”
According to Byrd, it was a heartfelt encounter that they all needed.
“She was just so comfortable in that moment and it made us comfortable to be there in that moment as well,” he said. “It was really humbling to be a part of that.”
“It was just a good chance to be out there for the community, to know that they could always come up to us,” Byrd said. “I think it made everybody that was standing there really happy that day.”
“I was just the lucky one that got the high five.”
“To see us in all of our big gear and she ran with a smile on her face, gave us all high fives, wanted to take a picture,” he added when speaking to KGTV. “It was pretty, pretty awesome.”
The photos have been seen hundreds of times and have been shared both in news stories and on the California Highway Patrol-San Diego’s Facebook page.
“We are extremely proud of our officers continuously engaging with the community and building relationships,” CHP-San Diego posted on Friday.
“We are here to serve you San Diego. We are your California Highway Patrol.”
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