Det. Kevin Stolinksy applied for a promotion as a lieutenant with the La Vergne Police Department in Tennessee.
He got a promotion but it wasn’t the one he asked for.
Instead, Stolinsky was promoted to Heaven that day after having a heart attack while on duty.
Stolinsky, who was a 20-year veteran of the police force and also served in the U.S. Navy, left behind a young daughter, Anna, and his wife Casey Stolinsky.
So, when the time came for the 5-year-old to start kindergarten, his fellow officers made sure she wasn’t alone.
“I was reading a book and went to tell my Nana, ‘The policemen are here!'” Anna told TODAY.
There were five police cars and 20 motorcycles filled with police officers.
All with their sirens going off. But Casey knew they were coming. Her brother-in-law, who is also an officer, made sure she was cool with it.
Stolinksy’s colleagues wanted to make sure that Anna had a proper send-off on her first day at a brand new school.
The family all piled into Lt. David Durham’s squad car to head to Lancaster Christian Academy in Smyrna.
“He was the one who drove us to the hospital the night we got the call (about Kevin),” Casey said. “I sat in that same seat.”
Anna’s first day of school was quite the spectacle.
“In honor of her father and in support of her family, Anna and her mom were given a police escort to school and then were surrounded by officers from multiple departments as she made her way to the front doors. Anna even went back to give each of the officers a high five to thank them for helping her get to school safely,” the police department’s Facebook page said.
The same officers also gave Anna an American flag at her father’s memorial service.
But officers say they were just doing what Stolinsky would have done.
“He was supporting families of police officers,” Stolinsky’s brother, David Stolinksy, told Daily News Journal. “He was encouraging families of police officers. That’s the family business.”
Casey was extremely grateful for the gesture on her daughter’s special day. She said it was “amazing.”
The video of Casey’s send-off ended up going viral and was viewed more than 109,000 times on Facebook.
“This is so wonderful. Thank you each and everyone for making her day so special,” wrote one commentor.
“This is so heartwarming! Thank you to each and every one of you for making this little girl’s day special. I love all our men and woman in blue. You are more special than what you get credit for. THANK YOU! God bless you, Anna. The Lord has you and your family wrapped in his arms,” wrote another.
“She is just starting Kindergarten and is carrying on like a champ for her father. May he rest in peace, he would be proud to see who her daughter will become,” wrote a commenter on Inside Edition’s YouTube channel.
Learn more about this story and watch Anna’s send-off in the video below.
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