Everyone gets a sinking feeling when they see those blue and red lights start flashing in the rearview mirror.
No one wants to deal with overreaching bureaucracy or their high fees and taxes.
Unfortunately, there are some in society who’ve been conditioned to see those lights not just as an inconvenience but as a potential threat to their life.
But Dr. Ashlye V. Wilkerson didn’t want to prejudge the officer pulling her and her family over despite the many viral videos of unarmed Black drivers beings killed by police officers during routine traffic stops.
“We were very mindful of how things can play out,” she told CBS 58. “I don’t think it’s fair to characterize everyone based on someone’s actions.”
Trooper Jaret Doty of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol pulled over Wilkerson and asked her if she knew how fast she was going.
Wilkerson apologized after realizing that she was speeding and reached for her driver’s license and registration.
That’s when Wilkerson’s father Anthony “Tony” Geddis spoke up.
“This is my baby girl,” he told the officer. “She’s driving me home from a chemo treatment at the cancer center at Duke.”
Doty acknowledged what Geddis had said and walked off to run her credentials.
“At that time I knew there is no way I’m writing this lady a ticket. I had to sit in there for a while just to compose myself to figure out what to say when I went back,” Doty said.
Doty had previously been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis which requires surgery to remove his colon.
He had been back on the job for only a few months.
Doty had noticed that Geddis had a pouch attached to him for treatment, similar to the one he had to wear during his treatment.
When Doty returned to the car, he asked the family if he could pray for them.
“Or course,” Geddis said. “I absolutely believe in prayer.”
Geddis is actually a chairman of the board of deacons at his church where his wife is a pastor.
The two men grasped hands and began to pray together as Wilkerson recorded the prayer.
“I just want you to know that you have someone else praying for you on your journey,” Doty told him after their prayer was complete.
Wilkerson said her father was in tears as they drove away as he was touched by the officer’s gesture.
Geddis passed away a few months after that and Wilkerson son ended up posting the video after her father’s death.
“As you always did, you quickly jumped to my defense,” she wrote in the video’s caption. “Heartfelt thanks to this officer who prayed for and with you that day.”
That video ended up going viral and was shared by several news stations.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol ended up reaching out to the family to share their condolences as well.
“This is not about me at all,” Dotyn said. “I don’t want any recognition. I didn’t do anything. This man lost his life, and his daughter is honoring him. I want her to be able to honor him the way she wants, and not for something I did.”
Watch Geddis and Doty’s special moment in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
