Police officers have many responsibilities, and one of those responsibilities is to uphold the law. Due to the fact that people sometimes get in trouble for the things that THEY do, police officers get a bad reputation.
Although many of them do their best to keep our communities safe, they are not often portrayed as doing so. At times, however, a simple picture can make all of the difference in how we look at these brave individuals. That was the case recently when Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Lindley did something absolutely remarkable. Fortunately, it was caught in a picture and it has gone viral!
Deputy Lindley is no stranger to these types of situations. For 10 years, he has served as a Sheriff’s deputy and prior to that, he was a Green Beret in the U.S. Army. He understands how to be strong when the situation calls for it.
He is also a grandfather of 7 grandchildren, so you can only imagine that he also has a softer side. That is especially true when it comes to children. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that when he pulled up on the scene of a traffic accident he took action as far as the children were concerned.
As is the case with many accident scenes, there was considerable chaos when they first arrived. Deputy Lindley and his partner, Deputy Sanford, began to provide aid to anyone that was injured. It was also then that Deputy Lindley noticed a young mother leaning against her car, and she was holding a baby.
As the deputy approached this young mother, it was clear that she was quite shaken from the accident. The baby girl she was holding was not physically hurt, but she was upset as well. Deputy Lindley didn’t hesitate when he saw the situation. He asked the mother if he could try to calm the little girl, took her in his arms and walked with her. That is when the viral picture was captured!
Deputy Lindy had a great way of looking at the situation…
“After I held her and walked a bit, she quieted down. I recalled my days as a young father, and young grandfather, and I put those skills to work and calmed the baby down. She had a very sweet little personality.”
The photo was snapped by his partner, Deputy Sanford. As of this time, it has already been shared more than 10,000 times from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office Facebook page
“I held her for a good while, at least an hour and a half,” Deputy Lindley said. “I wanted to give her mother time to regain her composure. She’s a young mother, and this was probably extremely traumatic for her. She was having a rough time from an emotion (sic) standpoint.”
This wasn’t just a publicity stunt, it was a compassionate act that had real world effects. The mother of the baby, Monica Johnson, reunited with the officers after the accident. She had this to say…
“I didn’t even realize he held her. I didn’t even realize we were there for as long as we were. It was a relief for him to calm her down and let me calm down as well.”
This police officer is a wonderful example of the individuals that protect us 24 hours a day. Keep this image in your mind and heart the next time you hear negative reports on the news…