Awesome - After Watching How This Teen Treated an Elderly Lady, Cop Had to Step In
When a torrential downpour started, which had everyone in the parking lot he was in, dashing for their cars, there was one elderly woman who was moving a little slower than the rest. When a teen ran over to her, this cop could not believe what he was seeing.
Meet Officer Holt
Police Officer Joe Holt had seen a lot of things during his time on the force in Independence, Missouri. One thing he did not see as often as he would have liked, are acts of kindness. Every day he would head out on patrol, respond to calls, and keep the city safe.
More often than not, he would see some hard sights. This was why he was so surprised to see teenager Tyrea Pryor lend a helping hand to a complete stranger.
Needing To Know More
The teenager at the heart of this touching story is Tyrea Pryor. He had always been a good kid and had strived to help people in his community when he saw that they were in need. The elderly woman, he sheltered from the rain, was just one of the many small acts of kindness he had performed over the years.
Officer Holt decided he needed to know more about this kind teen, and after Tyrea had finished helping the elderly woman, he approached the vehicle that Tyrea had returned to. Inside, it was just him and his mother chatting about the day. Holt knocked on the vehicle window and asked if he could talk to them for a few minutes.
The Perfect Son
Tyrea’s mother knew how special he was. A lot of sons get to their teenage years and begin to distance themselves from their moms. Not Tyrea, he had always had a close relationship with his mother, and his do good attitude was something she was very proud of her son for.
When Officer Holt commended her on having such a great child, she found herself tearing up. Officer Holt had kept something secret though, when Tyrea was helping the woman, he had caught it on camera and planned to do something special with the image. He wanted other people to know about this teen, and social media was the place for that.
Going Viral
As soon as Officer Holt got home for the evening, he decided to upload the picture he had of Tyrea to Facebook. Astonishingly, his friends and colleagues began to and share the post. Soon enough, the post was being shared by thousands of people around the world. It had gone viral!
Now, this unknown teenager was internet famous. The one thing Holt had neglected to ask the teenager for was his name, and he hoped that this post would allow him to find him, and give him the recognition he deserved for being a good samaritan. With all of the attention the post was getting, he was sure it would happen.
The Search Effort
This is the kind of feel-good story that cops often don’t get to tell, which is why Officer Holt became so focused on finding Tyrea. He could not use police programs like facial recognition but instead needed to pound the pavement like the cops of old.
He made it his newfound mission to find a good guy, rather than a bad guy. It was proving to be quite difficult, though. Tyrea was nowhere to be found, and nobody seemed to know the teen. Holt wished he had gotten his name when he had the chance, but this just made him more determined.
Not to be discouraged, Officer Holt went back to his Facebook page. The post had been shared by people all over Independence, Missouri, and he knew that eventually, he would get a hit. Someone had to know this kid, and where he lived.
As the days passed, Holt began to lose a bit of hope. That is until he saw a notification, and it seemed like he might finally have an answer as to who this young man is.
Family Help
After a few days of not hearing anything, a call finally came into the Independence Police Force. One of Tyrea’s relatives had seen Holt’s post on Facebook and decided to lend a helping hand. This unknown source gave Officer Holt all of the details they had on Tyrea.
His name, age, address, and even his school. It was thrilling for Holt to be able to put a name to the face finally, and he decided to go out and find Tyrea once more.
Crime Rates
The city of Independence is not without crime, though. Officer Holt was often kept busy with cases of theft from homes and cars, along with a few cases of arson, and other crimes. The city itself has actually been put on the FBI’s radar, because more cars are stolen in it each year, than any other city in the United States.
What this means for Officer Holt is that there is never a dull day on the job.
A Large Police Force
Unfortunately, a lot of the crimes that are committed in Independence are violent ones. To deal with the increase in crime, Independence often employs a large number of police officers to try and combat this.
Officer Holt is one of over 200 police officers in the city, who are tasked with keeping the streets safe and making sure that crime is kept at a manageable level. Luckily, for Holt, Tyrea is one of the good guys.
A Good Work Environment
Even though the city has some high crime rates, that does not mean it is a bad place to work. In fact, the police force that Holt is on, is one that fosters community involvement. All of the cops are supposed to work together to create a harmonious workplace, where everyone feels at ease with one another.
They should all work on supporting their fellow cops, and their fellow citizens when they see that they are in need.
Grabbing A Bite
It was a pretty normal day for Holt when he found himself parked outside of a grocery store. He had not packed a lunch, and since his patrol shift was 12 hours long, he knew he would need to grab some food.
Not knowing what he wanted to eat, he decided to head into the grocery store to see what appealed to him. Maybe he wanted a sandwich or a salad. As he was pondering this, he looked up and saw Tyrea.
The Grocery Store
Tyrea and his mom had driven over to the Hy-Vee, a popular Midwest chain of grocery stores that served up all sorts of tasty food. Both he and his mom wanted to get some Chinese take-out, as it had been a long week, and they had a craving.
Officer Holt was thinking of the same thing, which is why he was also there. This would be the setting for their paths to cross initially and send Holt on his wild goose chase.
On High Alert
As a cop, you always need to be aware of your surroundings. Crimes can happen at any time, and you need to be vigilant constantly. Officer Holt felt something happening in his periphery and turned towards it.
He was on his way into the grocery store, but that was when he saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. A teenager was running towards an elderly woman. He really hoped he wasn’t going to see a crime.
Pouring Rain
Ready to spring into action, Holt watched to see what this teen was doing. He had a heavy raincoat on, which he immediately whipped off. Much to his astonishment, the teen, who we now know is Tyrea, proceeded to cover the elderly woman with his coat.
He slowly helped her walk to her car, with her groceries, and helped her load up the vehicle. Once she was safely inside, he waved goodbye to her and watched her go on her way.
In The Rain
Throughout this interaction, Holt found himself gazing around the parking lot. No other person had thought to help this woman. She was clearly someone who needed a helping hand, but all anyone had cared about was getting into their cars and not getting wet.
A little bit of rain had never hurt anyone before, and Holt was surprised that nobody else had thought to help. He needed to know who this boy was.
Warming The Soul
If Tyrea had not gone and helped the woman, Officer Holt knew that it would have been his duty to do so. After all, he was charged with protecting the community, and that also meant protecting vulnerable people from the elements.
A little bit of rain never hurt anyone, but if someone was to catch a chill, it could be very bad for their health. Tyrea made sure this woman was dry and safe.
Shock And Awe
Sometimes it is hard to remember that the world is actually full of good people, and for Officer Holt it was something that he needed to be reminded of. This small act of kindness was just the sort of thing he needed to feel a sense of fulfillment in his work.
He hoped that more teens would learn from Tyrea’s example and begin to follow suit. He knew that from then on, he would make more of an effort to help out as well.
All Love, Not Hate
Nowadays, we often only hear about bad things on the news, like crimes involving hate. This story about Tyrea worked to bring the entire community together, which Officer Holt was proud of. Instead of a story in which a teen commits a crime, it was a teen helping out in his community.
Holt wants to see more stories like this and hopes that by this post going viral, more teens will have their eyes opened as to what is happening around them.
More To the Story
There were a few details that Holt had initially left out. The biggest one was the fact that Tyrea was already safe and dry inside his own vehicle when he saw the woman in need. He made a conscious effort to get out of the car, into the pouring rain to help someone else.
Most people would simply look through the window, and then go about their day. They would not care about helping someone they don’t know.
Not Looking For Recognition
The best part about this interaction that Holt witnessed was how nonchalant Tyrea was during the whole thing. He was not doing this to put it up on social media, and gain recognition. All he wanted to do was the right thing like it was a normal part of his day.
It showed that he had a lot of empathy for those around him and an awareness that a lot of people do not. To Holt, while he may not have wanted recognition, he definitely deserved it.
Ebony Findley
Tyrea is African American, and when his mother, Ebony Findley saw a police officer walking up to her car during their first interaction with Holt, she had become nervous. All Officer Holt wanted to do was to commend her on raising a fine young man.
When she heard that, she could not believe that this police officer had such kind things to say about her son. It was an extremely touching moment for everyone involved, and Tyrea accepted the praise quietly.
A Dinner
The last thing Holt added to his Facebook post for Tyrea, was an open invitation to dinner some time. Holt wanted the teen to know that if they should ever run into each other, he would like to treat him as a ‘thank you’ from the officer and the city.
Tyrea and Holt had dinner at Red Lobster together, and we’re sure these two will be seeing each other again. With a chance encounter like this one, who’s to say it can’t happen again.
Helping Out
Tyrea and Holt finally had their meeting and were interviewed for national television. All Tyrea had to say about his kind gesture, is that it and others are something he has always done. People have the power to help others, and he recognizes that.
We hope that Tyrea continues to help people and that in turn, people help him. He truly is a good Samaritan, and we should all follow in his footsteps in our own communities.
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