“Small acts of kindness can truly change lives!”
After Corporal Brandon Fleming put in some overtime playing with neighborhood kids, a grateful mom recorded it and posted it to Facebook—where his simple act touched thousands of hearts!
With her 5-year-old daughter, Nyela, and 6-year-old niece, Ka’lyse, happily playing outside, Iesha Roper-boswell cringed as police cars pulled into her South Hill, Virginia, apartment complex. Though they’d parked in front of another building to escort the fire trucks that had come to investigate a reported gas leak, Iesha couldn’t help but feel anxious as she noticed the girls go still and quiet over their toys.
Minutes later, the police officers came out of the building, letting residents who’d gathered there know that the leak had turned out to be a false alarm. They were preparing to leave, when one officer spotted Nyela and Ka’lyse and walked over.
Iesha’s stomach tightened. In the little girls’ minds, the police only came when something really bad happened. I hope they don’t get scared, she thought.
Kneeling on the sidewalk, Corporal Brandon Fleming smiled. “Can I help?” he asked, gesturing to their dolls.
At first, the girls were standoffish, and Iesha held her breath, expecting her daughter’s usual torrent of tears whenever the police came by. But as Corporal Fleming, or C.B. as he’s known in the community, stretched out to pick up a doll, Nyela and Ka’lyse sat down beside him, laughing, and soon, playing and singing with him.
I can’t believe this, Iesha smiled, pulling out her phone to record the scene. After a few minutes, Corporal Fleming got up, but before heading to his squad car, he joined some boys coloring with chalk nearby.
Touched by the exchange, Iesha thanked the officer and asked for his permission to post the video on social media. He agreed, and later she uploaded it with the message: A false alarm gas leak turned into a full out play session today! We definitely need more cops like C.B.!
Within a day, Iesha was surprised to find her video had gone viral, touching the hearts of thousands of viewers. But for Corporal Fleming, a 15-year veteran officer with four children of his own, it was part of a normal day—and just what you do when you love your town. “I want all kids to know that they can always come to me and trust me,” he says with a smile, “and that the police are here to do good and to help everyone.”
Iesha knows that is certainly true for her daughter and niece. “They just run up to C.B. every time they see him now,” she says. “To them, he’s the best—and he is! He took the time to make our kids feel safe, to let them know he’s there for them. It’s changed my daughter’s and niece’s lives forever!” — Alexandra Pollock
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