BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. – We all have bad days. For one Botetourt County kindergartener, Thursday didn’t get off to a good start.
But a school resource officer was able to help lift the kid’s spirits.
Thursday morning, Principal Tammy Riggs said the kindergartener got dropped off at Colonial Elementary School, but he immediately got upset.
“We had a student come in who was reluctant to go to class, had been out for a while and was very emotional and had just laid down on the floor,” said Riggs. ”He just didn’t want to go.”
The guidance counselor tried to calm him down. That’s when the school’s resource officer, Deputy Andrew Morris, came over to help, laying down on the floor right beside the boy.
“The easiest thing to do is just get down on their level with them. If you do that, maybe I could calm him, just talk to him. So that’s exactly what I did and that’s what I’d want someone to do for my kids if they were ever upset,” said Morris.
When Riggs walked over, she saw the two on the ground, snapped a picture and posted it on Facebook to let people share in the sweet moment.
“A lot of times we’ll hear about the people that get it wrong and we have a lot of getting it right going on around here and he’s a part of that,” said Riggs.
“My biggest goal as a resource officer is to let people see past the uniform,” said Morris. “Just because a police officer shows up, doesn’t mean you’re in trouble.”
The deputy started talking with the boy about the video game platform Roblox and that seemed to cheer him up.
The little boy got up, talked with the principal, went back to class and ended up having a good day.