A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer is getting much love after CMPD posted a photo on its Facebook page showing the officer quietly assisting an autistic high school student who had left campus and was said to be suicidal.
The photo, which was posted May 14, which shows Officer Tim Purdy sitting on the ground near the unnamed student, had been shard more than 223,000 times and had received more than 27,000 comments and 640,000 “likes.”
CMPD’s Facebook post said that, because of the student’s “neuro-developmental disorder,” he had a history of displaying violent behavior. So to connect with the young man, Purdy sat next to him on the ground, “talked things through and even got him laughing.”
“There’s more to policing than making arrests and enforcing the law,” the department said in its Facebook post. “Sometimes taking those extra little steps makes the biggest difference in someone’s life.”
Apparently, many Facebook readers agree.
Among the many comments left on the CMPD Facebook page was this from Mike Hightower: Crazy how a little patience and conversing can deescalate certain situations eh? Hats off to this cop. This is real policing.
