Police officers have one of the toughest jobs on the planet. Every day, they risk their lives to make ours safer. Men and women on the force are subject to scrutiny every day, and increasingly so in today's political climate.
That's why it's always refreshing to see people doing incredibly kind things for those on the force.
Officer Benitez learned first-hand that there are still citizens who respect and appreciate their work. The officer was at his local Denny's eating breakfast, when someone approached him.
"I was there, eating my breakfast, and all of a sudden, I see this little gentleman walking towards me; I was just thinking he was coming down to say "˜hi'," the officer says. "He hands me the tab, you know, and I look at him and I look up the tab, and I'm like, wait a minute. And I'm like, wait a minute. I put my glasses on and I read it."
When Officer Benitez began to read the note, he was overcome with emotion.
So what did it say?
9-year-old Noah approached Officer Benitez and handed him the tab. On it, a hand-written note that is too sweet.
"I want to be you when I grow up. Thank you for your service. - Noah Smiling"
"It meant everything...I'm gonna keep it as long as I can. 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," the officer explains. "It means that I need to keep trying to be a good example to all of these young guys."
Amanda Cantin, Noah's mom, says the idea was all her son's.
"He says, 'Mom there's a police officer down there,' I said, 'Yeah I know I seen him when I walked in!' And he's like, I know what to do, and I'm like what? And he goes, 'Can I pay for his breakfast?' And I said absolutely!" recalls Cantin.
Noah used an advance on his birthday money to cover the meal for Officer Bentin. But he didn't do any of this for the attention.
"I wanted to make his day better," Noah says.
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