Officer Rewarded for Kindness After Little Boy Flees House Fire Wearing No Shoes or Socks
Tragedies can strike without notice. There’s a reason why the wise person learns to count his days so that he can gain a heart of wisdom.
Our shelter, our wealth, our loved ones and even our own selves are all temporary. They’re here one moment and gone the next.
That’s why small acts of kindness really matter, small signs of grace that soothe the needy during their troubles. And the gracious actions of one Richmond, Virginia, police officer have gone viral for their fittingness.
On Dec. 4, a Richmond-area home went up in flames. The entire family within sprinted out into the cold night, fleeing for their lives.
According to WTVR, they weren’t even fully dressed. One young boy charged out of the inferno without wearing socks or shoes.
That didn’t escape the notice of one sharp-eyed policeman. Officer De’Dongio Randall noticed the bare feet of the shivering youngster and decided to do something about it.
Last night, Officer De’Dongio Randall responded to a house fire. When he arrived, Officer Randall noticed a little boy ran out of the house without socks or shoes. Officer Randall quickly went to his car where he had an extra pair of socks that he gave the little boy. pic.twitter.com/t19rDMV8zf
— Richmond Police (@RichmondPolice) December 5, 2018
“In the academy, you know, we always made sure to prepare our bag,” Randall told WRIC. “I went in my bag, pulled out my handy-dandy Under Armour black socks, and said, ‘There ya go my friend.'”
Right there and then, Randall got down on his knees. Then he began to slide the socks onto the boy’s feet.
“I wear a (size) 13, so I helped him roll them over,” he said. “It was so funny.”
Others, though, didn’t find it humorous. They thought it a touching act of kindness, a small graciousness to a young life as all its worldly possessions went up in smoke.
Someone snapped a picture of Randall as he put the socks on and later posted it on social media. Soon enough, it went viral.
Randall seemed nonplussed by the attention, saying, “I just wanted him to have some warm socks on his feet, nothing to it.” Indeed, he has helped kids for a long time.
At the time of the fire, Randall had only been an officer for about two months. Prior to that, he’d served with child protective services and always kept the trunk of his car stuffed with goodies for troubled youngsters.
He said, “It was just something that I did, you know, having toys and stuff. I just love kids to smile.”
However, his actions caught the attention of WTVR, which runs a program to recognize acts of kindness. Anchor Jon Burkett met Randall and said, “For a part of CBS 6 Gives, I wanted to bring officer Randall some replacement socks.”
In addition to the socks, he also provided the officer with several gift cards. For his part, Randall was truly thankful. “Oh man, thank you,” he said. “I appreciate it.”
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