Why this picture of a policeman carrying a little boy went crazy-viral
There have been a few straight-up beautiful stories in the viral-verse lately about policemen going above and beyond the call of duty to protect and serve. There was the picture of the policeman who held a baby in his arms for an hour and a half while the mother composed herself in the wake of a multi-car collision, the policeman who pulled a driver over to explain his personal connection to the driver’s “PEACE” license plate, and now there’s a new story making the Internet rounds and warming hearts. The subject? This picture of a policeman carrying a little boy.
As ABC News reports, officer David Taylor was patrolling the International Rice Festival in Crowely, Louisiana this past weekend when he encountered a little boy who had lost his mother in the crowd. The little boy at first sat on Taylor’s shoulders as the two searched for his mother, but eventually the boy ended up falling asleep in Taylor’s arms. “He was extremely upset,” Taylor told ABC. “I put him on my shoulders to see if he would be able to see his parents. He started to fall asleep and I moved him to my chest.”
Eventually, mother and son were reunited, but before that happened, someone snapped a pic of this moment of Taylor’s act of kindness, and the photo subsequently went viral, receiving over 5,000 likes on Facebook.
“Understand that he helped the little boy for quite a while until he found the mother and that was just really great to see,” a witness told Wide Blue Line. “He was just showing him the sights and holding him and keeping him comfortable.”
The thing is, Taylor actually doesn’t WANT all this attention for his do-gooding.
“What I was doing is nothing different from the rest of our law enforcement colleagues,” he told ABC. “The only difference is that someone took a photo of me.”
Obviously, the only thing better than someone being sweet is someone being sweet AND humble. And the only thing better than being sweet AND humble is someone who does good with the intention that their goodness be a gift that keeps on giving.
“If it shines a true light on what police officers do and can do than [this attention] is a good thing,” Taylor acknowledged to ABC.
Taylor absolutely has the right outlook on this whole thing, but we’re still thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate him for being extra-kind when it counted.
Related:
Why this picture of a policeman and a baby just went viral
The reason why a policeman just pulled this driver over is making us emotional
(Image via Twitter.)