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Heartwarming story behind video of police officer pulling up next to boy


When a police officer pulled over to speak with a boy in a suburban neighbourhood it wasn’t to confront the juvenile on a lawful matter – he just wanted to play catch.

The officer from the Summerville Police Department was seen pulling over to toss a football with a boy who was playing in his front yard alone.

In a surveillance video captured at the home of a local family and posted to the police department’s Facebook page, the boy is seen tossing a football on his front lawn as a patrol car slows down and pulls up along the kerb.

When a police officer pulled over to speak with a boy in a suburban neighbourhood it wasn’t the conversation the youth expected. Source: Summerville Police Department
When a police officer pulled over to speak with a boy in a suburban neighbourhood it wasn’t the conversation the youth expected. Source: Summerville Police Department

He approaches the car with caution until an officer, later identified as Field Training Officer Tommy Bilancione, steps out and signals for the boy to throw him the ball.

According to the boy’s mother, Sarah Prusinski-Petrovski, Bilancione had driven by and turned back around to check if the 10-year-old had someone to play with.

When he replied: “No, sir”, Bilancione kindly stayed for a few minutes to keep him company.

I wasn’t outside when it happened. It was all by chance,” Ms Prusinski-Petrovski tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

Mum thanks police force for cop’s kind gesture

The mother decided to check the surveillance footage and send it to the department to express her gratitude after seeing her son “grinning from ear to ear.”

She said she posted the clip to say thank you to the officer and is “happy to see the police portrayed in a positive way.”

Thousands of people have watched the video, with many expressing their appreciation for the officer, who has a very favourable reputation within the community.

Field Training Officer Tommy Bilancione, of the Summerville Police Department in South Carolina, pulled over to play catch with a local boy. Source: Facebook
Field Training Officer Tommy Bilancione, of the Summerville Police Department in South Carolina, pulled over to play catch with a local boy. Source: Facebook

The department’s Chief Jon Rogers adds: “We are proud to have officers like FTO Bilancione wearing our uniform and representing our chosen profession of law enforcement.

“He embodies what we call ‘SPD Pride,’ and our officers continue to make community engagement a priority every shift.”

Other cops doing good deeds

News of the US cop’s kind gesture comes as a Brisbane officer used his carpentry skills from his previous life as a tradesman to repair the door of a terrified woman whose house was burgled earlier this week.

In July, footage surfaced of a Florida policeman helping a homeless man shave his beard so he could apply for a job at McDonald’s.

Even more remarkable was the kind-hearted police officer who last month adopted the baby of a homeless woman who he befriended while on patrol.

A Florida cop made international headlines two years ago for shooting hoops with a group of youths in the street while investigating a complaint about kids “playing loudly”.

He stunned the children by returning three days later with Shaquille O’Neal for a rematch.