The Discovery
It was just an ordinary day when Officer James was patrolling a suburban neighborhood. He sees a little figure wandering alone in the parking lot. When he moves closer to her, he realizes that it is a young girl who looks visibly distressed and does not seem to have any adult accompanying her. Concerned about her safety, he lowered himself to her level and softly asked her where her parents were.
The little girl looked up with wide, tear-filled eyes and blurted her heartbreaking words: “Mommy doesn’t want me home.” This is as simple yet as profoundly a statement by Officer James as that when a child says these words, something tells the officer that she must be in need of far more than a small town or a small child could offer. His gut instinct was to keep her safe and try to understand what had brought her to the point where she felt like this was the only alternative. It is in these moments that define the role of law enforcement in society: it’s not just as enforcers of law but guardians of community safety and well-being.
