We often don’t give much thought to the lives of those who are out there protecting us on a day by day basis. Unfortunately, the news is often riddled with something negative as far as our men in blue are concerned. When you really stop to think about it, however, they are out there doing the service every day and even though they have lives of their own, they put them on hold to serve and protect others. It really is an act of love for many of those police officers.
When an officer is sworn in, they take on that duty to serve the people and to protect the community. There is often more that goes on behind the scenes than most people realize. We may see them whenever they are on the street or perhaps when they are driving to an emergency situation with the lights on. It is what takes place when nobody is looking that often is the most touching. Fortunately, somebody was there to capture this moment and we can all benefit from it.
This took place in Savannah, Georgia when officer James Hurst was performing his job. He ended up finding himself in the situation that allowed his fatherly instincts to kick in. You see, he has two sons of his own and one of them has Down syndrome. He knows what those children go through and the fact that they need a helping hand when the world gets a little frightening.
Hurst was only on the force for about a year when he got a call about a child wandering the streets in a Savannah neighborhood. They could not locate his parents or caregivers and the 16-month-old child was distraught.
When he went over to the neighborhood, he picked up the boy and took him to the Memorial University Medical Center emergency room. He stayed by the young child’s side while he was checked out. It turns out that he was not injured but he was quite frightened by what had taken place. The boy started crying uncontrollably.
Hurst saw that nobody was there to comfort the child so he did what any kind human would do and he picked up the crying boy. He held him tightly and the boy was instantly comforted. Soon, his cries began to fade and his body loosened as he snuggled into the officer’s uniform. Officer Hurst said the following:
“The boy, obviously, being so small, became very upset. He was crying. He was sobbing. I asked the hospital staff if I can hold him to comfort him and soothe him a little bit to try to calm him down, to continue getting medical care, and they said that was fine.”
“o I picked him up. Minutes later, I was standing and he was asleep on my chest, and with all my body armor and my gun belt, became very heavy holding this small child. So that’s when I decided to sit down on the bed and make it easier for him and me.”
The photo was shared by the Savannah Police Department on their social media page. It went viral for all the right reasons. Many people who saw the image praised him for his kindness but for him, it was just another day on the job.
“I just knew this child needed somebody to be there for him,” the officer said. “It was just human instinct; humanity. The hospital staff was taking great care of him [but] he was sobbing and crying. I picked him up and within minutes, he was asleep on my chest.”