On the outside, it looks that the Oberon Middle School in Arvada, Colorado, is just a school like any other. As dawn breaks on a new day School Resource Police Officer Gordon Beesley slowly prepares for a busy working day ahead and unloads his bike from his squad vehicle.
A day like any other for Officer Beesley who says he’s a morning person
“I’ve always been a morning person, so it’s a good way to start the day,” he said as he rode down Simms on Thursday morning. “That kind of wakes you up.”
Beesley takes off on the bike down the street and soon meets with his friend Blais, an eighth-grader at Oberon Middle School, who has been riding with him to school for the past year.
They make their way down the neighborhood and soon pick up another eight-grader, and continue to ride to school. You can easily see that the morning ride to school has become a routine and that Officer Beesly and the two eighth-graders are best of friends.
Every morning Beesley escorts Micah and Blais to school
Micah approached officer Beesley on the playground when he was a seven-grader and the two have been friends ever since.
“We just got to chit chatting,” Beesley said. “He’s a really social kid. He’ll just come up to you and start talking.”
During their conversations, Micah and Officer Beesley discovered they shared a common passion for bikes. For Micah, his love of bikes is a welcome escape from his daily struggles. His mom revealed that Micah is affected by a developmental delay which limits his intellectual capabilities.
“It has been a developmental delay pretty much since he was born,” Brandy Nix, Micah’s mom said.
Officer Beesley came up with a plan to keep Micah safe and the two quickly bonded
Micah’s cognitive impairment means he can’t be out there without supervision, as his mom points out. Officer Beesley then came up with a plan so that Micah didn’t have to ride his bike to school alone.
“I got in touch with mom and said ‘hey how would you feel about me coming to pick up Micah’ she said ‘sure that would be great as long as you’re with him,'” Beesley said.
Their morning ride to school turned into a routine and they were soon joined by another bike enthusiast, Blais.
“Beesly rode with Micah and I said can I join and just started, like, bonding together,” Blais said.
The City of Arvada name Officer Beesley Employee of the Year
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Micah gets to do something more than ride to and from school. He gets to do something for himself, which he says, makes him feel free.
“He’s come a long way, he knows a lot more now than he ever did,” his mom said.
The word of Officer Beesley’s friendship with Micah had quickly spread and impressed the city officials who named him employee of the year as a tribute to his selfless efforts to help Micah.
“They planted a tree on my behalf which is a red oak so I just asked for one that’ll be a good climbing tree and I figured by the time I retire I can probably climb it,” Beesley remarked.
The tree will serve as a constant reminder to the friendship between him, Micah, and Blaise, Beesley said. Micah and Blaise won’t get to see much of their friend with graduation just around the corner, but their friendship will last for a long time to come.
“Kids like Micah and Blaise are rare,” Beesley concludes.
Source: YouTube
