A D.C.-area mom’s story about her experience with a Metro Transit police officer is going viral on Facebook and has been shared more than 10,000 times.
It’s a happy story about the officer helping the mother and her child, who has autism.
“He was having some difficulties. Throwing just a normal, I would say, tantrum the same that my child would throw at 4 years old,” said Officer Dominic Case.
Taylor Pomilla described the encounter in a Facebook post, detailing how her 4-year-old son Andrew was so distraught on their way home Friday afternoon that he was well past tantrum and into meltdown when they encountered Case inside the Gallery Place Metro station.
“We do have the autism awareness training,” Case said. “I showed him the badge and described that’s what made me a police officer.”
Andrew was so mesmerized by the officer, his badge patch and gear that Case said the child immediately stopped crying.
“He took to it really great. As soon as I handed him the patch, we began walking. He grabbed my hand to hold while we went down the escalator,” Case said.
Case let Andrew keep his badge and ended up escorting the pair all the way home from Gallery Place to Ballston, engaging with Andrew the entire way.
The entire encounter inspired Pomilla to share the story on Facebook, saying in part:
This officer COMPLETELY went out of his way to help Andrew. He honestly restored my faith that there are good people still left in the world.
To that officer, I truly cannot say thank you enough for your immeasurable amount of kindness and for making Andrew’s day (probably his whole year).
Case has been a Metro Transit police officer for five years — his entire career. It’s something he’s always known he wanted to do.
“It just seemed like a really honorable job,” Case said. “You go to work every day hoping to help others. And then, when you do, and seeing all this [response], it certainly makes going to work worth it.”
