The police department has different roles in our society.
Their primary role is to protect society by catching the bad guys and reduce crime. But there are a few police officers who go beyond their job and do more good to the community by simply being kind-hearted citizens.
Officer Mike Rivers is one of those.
Cassie Lea Barnes was on her lunch break when she noticed the police officer sitting on the grass with a homeless woman. She took a photo of this heartwarming moment and sent it to her husband. Chris Barnes didn’t even think twice about posting the photo.
Officer Rivers did not just sit down with the homeless woman but also shared some pizza and a conversation with her.
As a police officer roving around Goldsboro, Officer Rivers are familiar with the homeless people in the city as he is friends with most of them. He noticed this woman who he never saw around Goldsboro before. He was about to get on his way when something tugged him to go back.
The woman’s shirt reads: “Homelessness. The fastest way of becoming a nobody.”
This moved Officer Rivers so much that he stopped by the nearest pizza store, went back to the homeless woman, and had lunch with her. They shared a pleasant conversation where Officer Rivers learned more about this woman.
Her name is Michelle, and her husband was homeless, too. Their 12-year-old daughter is under foster care and is battling liver disease. They also have a 23-year-old son but didn’t mention more about him.
Office Rivers said that he felt a connection between homelessness and his job.
As police officers, a lot of people have negative impressions of them. Officer Rivers thinks that this is the same with homeless people. People perceived both as “bad apples” in society, something that he disagrees with.
For him, homeless people are those people who are down with luck.
It’s not always because they were lazy to find a job but are people who just weren’t given the perfect opportunity. Something that he said “can happen to anybody.” This is also what he wants to portray as a police officer.
Officer Rivers has a more positive outlook when he goes to work.
“I come to work, and my method is, ‘Who can I bless today? Who can I make smile?’ I’m not the one that wants to take somebody’s father or mother away and put them in jail,” he told CNN.
And you can see proof of this man’s golden heart if you go through Goldsboro PD’s Facebook Page.
Officer Rivers was also seen sharing a conversation with a 7-year-old, where he sat down and just listened to what the kid has to say.
He also often visits schools around the community, takes a short time to play sports with the children, and even saving animals around.
Police Chief Michael West is all praises for the young officer.
“The circumstances around our job are often an unpleasant call to service, but this picture just shows we’re human like anyone else, and any chance we get to serve the community and help people, we take that chance. I’m very fortunate to have Officer Rivers in our department,” West said in an interview with CNN.
In a world where it can be harsh, stories like this one give us hope. Thank you, Officer Rivers.
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