Nine-year-old Noah was eating breakfast with his mom in Lakewood, Florida when he noticed a police officer sitting at a nearby table. He wanted to talk to officer, but he was nervous and didn’t know how to approach him.
Noah’s mother, Amanda Cantin, wondered why her son was so interested in the police officer. Then, Noah told her that he had to say something to say to him, but was too shy.
Soon, though, Noah had an idea. He still had his birthday money and decided to use it to pay the officer’s bill. Noah’s mom helped him talk to a waiter, and they soon had officer’s receipt in their hands. Noah wrote a message on it and ran up to the officer and put it on his table.
When the officer read what Noah wrote, he was instantly touched. The note said, “I want to be you when I grow up. Thank you for your service.”
Noah and Amanda saw the officer’s look of surprise as he read the message. A second later, he jumped out of his seat and was at their table.
The officer, named Eddie Benitez, works for the Lakeland Police Department. He thanked his young admirer and asked to take a picture with him.
“It meant everything. It meant that I’m supposed to wake up every morning and put on this uniform and go out there and do what I do. You know? It means that I need to keep trying to be a good example to all these young guys,” officer Benitez later said.
Noah has dreamed of becoming a police officer for the last four years.
“I’m going to make the world a better place and capture the bad guys,” he told Inside Edition.
The Lakeland Police Department was so impressed by Noah’s gesture that they posted a picture on their Facebook page to pay homage to him.
Isn’t it wonderful to see someone so young understand how valuable the police are to the community! Please share this article if you also think that the police deserve more appreciation!