Black 9-year-old Boy Opens Door To Cop, Then He Bursts Into Tears When He Says Why He’s There!

This young black boy, 9 years old, received a cop into his home. When the cop told him why he came, the boy burst into tears. Thomas sat on the kitchen bar stool, the one his mom always used when waiting for a meal to be ready. Although it was too high for him, he didn’t mind perching there and swinging his legs back and forth. He stared at the clock’s hands, watching as they inched closer and closer to 7:00 p.m. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, startling Thomas.

He wondered who it could be. Had his classmates changed their minds and decided to surprise him at the last minute? He doubted it; they weren’t very kind. But you never know. Thomas slid off the stool and made his way to the door. He dragged a stool to the door, stood on it, and peeped through the peephole. Stunned, he reared his head back, needing to confirm that he hadn’t been wrong.

He rubbed his eyes and peeped again, but the sight hadn’t changed. Climbing down from the stool, Thomas pushed it into a corner and undid the lock on the door, his heart racing the entire time. When he finally opened it, a cop in a Grand Rapids police uniform stood there, smiling.

“You came,” Thomas said, his eyes welling up with tears. Austin, the police officer, rolled his eyes playfully. “Of course! Remember, I gave my word that I wouldn’t ever go back on my word.” Thomas couldn’t believe it. He’d never experienced such a thing before. His parents usually promised to do many things — get him a dog, a trip to Disneyland, sneakers, the latest PlayStation — but they never fulfilled any of those. He’d come to associate adults making promises with wishful thinking, as something they said in the moment and hoped would eventually happen. He had come to understand that they usually didn’t actively plan to fulfill it. Thomas was shocked that Austin, a cop he had just met for the first time that morning, had fulfilled a promise by arriving at his home right on time.

Reflecting on their meeting earlier that morning, Thomas was almost on the brink of tears. Thomas had woken up earlier than he normally did because he’d been jittery about the day. Going about the routine of dressing up for school, Thomas felt physically ill and was tempted to throw up. Fortunately, he hadn’t, because of how queasy he’d been feeling. Thomas had skipped breakfast and chosen to walk to the bus stop, where he would catch the school bus.

Approaching the bus stop, Thomas had seen the school bus waiting there, as it was supposed to. From experience, he knew that it would wait for 10 minutes longer, which was more than enough time for him to get to it. He hadn’t hurried; he gently made his way to the bus. But just as he came up behind it, the engine ignited. Confused, he picked up the pace and tried to get to the side where the door was, but the bus started driving away.

Panicked, he called out, asking the bus to wait, that he was there, but it continued rolling away from him, putting distance between them. The students who sat in the back saw Thomas, but instead of helping him by informing the driver, they covered their mouths and laughed at him. A pain so sharp thrust through him, and he slowed down. Then he got angry, and that fueled him to run faster. But it was already too late; the bus had left him behind.

Unwilling to admit failure, Thomas continued running, breathless and in tears. It was in that state that Officer Austin found him. Austin had been driving to work, and through his side mirror, he noticed a young black boy chasing after a school bus. Bothered by the sight, he’d pulled up and gotten out of his car. He’d approached Thomas, who stood panting, looking in the direction the bus had gone, with dried tear streaks on his face. Gently, Austin had asked if there was any other way he could get to school.

Thomas hadn’t felt like talking to anybody because he was in a terrible mood, but the openness on Austin’s face had made him act otherwise. He told the kind cop that his mom didn’t have a car and couldn’t drive him, and the school was too far for him to walk the distance. Austin nodded in understanding, an idea already forming in his mind. “What if I drive you to school? Will your mom agree to that?” he asked.

Thomas stared at Austin with raised brows. It was true that the cop looked kind, but he hadn’t seemed like the type who would randomly help out a kid in his situation. Thomas knew that it was his only option though, and he took Austin to his house to meet his mom.

Thomas’s mother was puzzled that he’d missed the bus when he hadn’t been late. She’d wanted to ask more, but the firm press of his lips and pleading eyes had made her hold off. Then she’d given her permission for Officer Austin to drive her son to school. She thanked him a lot for his kindness to her son. It wasn’t often that a cop went out of his way to help a young black boy.

On their drive, Austin noticed Thomas’s silence and withdrawal into himself. To loosen him up, he connected his Bluetooth to the car speaker and streamed a song he knew was popular among Thomas’s age mates. As the song blared, Austin grooved with it. His over-the-top dramatic portrayal of the lyrics and associated dance moves caused Thomas to smile.

He started singing along, and soon after, they broke out into full-blown karaoke. When the song rounded off, Austin spotted his favorite diner and sought permission from Thomas to stop and quickly grab breakfast before it got too busy. He asked Thomas what he’d taken for breakfast. A shadow crossed the young boy’s face before he shrugged it off, claiming that he wasn’t hungry. Unfortunately for Thomas, his stomach chose that minute to growl. Austin laughed and invited him to enjoy a quick breakfast.

Thomas had been treated to a feast that morning. He’d never had such a hearty breakfast, where everything smelled and tasted so good. He hadn’t even known he was hungry until he started eating and didn’t stop until he was full. When Thomas expressed worry that he’d be late for school, Austin asked him not to worry. Being a cop, he could make sure that Thomas didn’t get into trouble. Thomas beamed, and that action had transformed him from gloomy to sunny.

The cop liked it. Getting back into the car, Austin had casually asked Thomas why he’d been left behind. In a distraught voice, Thomas had explained that the kids on the bus might have lied to the driver, that he wasn’t coming, and that they must have all agreed to tell this lie, making it so convincing that the driver believed them. This explanation made sense to Austin, who caught on fast that Thomas was being bullied at school.

Austin’s jaw ticked, and his grip on the steering wheel got so tight, his knuckles turned white. His nostrils flared, and his entire body language reflected deep displeasure at Thomas’s plight. “Why are they doing this to you, kiddo?” he glanced at Thomas with a weary sigh. Thomas narrated to him what he knew to be

the genesis of his problems. From the time he’d been admitted into his new school a year ago, he’d had trouble making friends. The other kids had simply not liked him and made no effort to disguise it. Whenever Thomas had tried to be nice to them or strike up a conversation, they’d laugh and walk away. During PE class, nobody had ever picked him to be on their team, and during lunch, he’d been turned away from every table.

One classmate had walked up to Thomas and told him that the others didn’t like him because he had too many feminine characteristics. They said he liked to wear lip gloss, bright-colored clothing, and talked with exaggerated gestures like a girl. His classmates had found that repulsive, claiming he was supposed to be hard and tough since he was black. They had gone as far as drawing caricatures on his locker, destroying his books, and laughing at him when he’d gotten punished for his missing notes.

It had always further angered them that Thomas would easily catch up in schoolwork and come out as one of the top students. They had felt that he was cheating somehow. Despite all that they had done, Thomas had foolishly held out hope that they would change and come to like him. He had admitted to Austin that, in fact, that day was his ninth birthday, and he was terrified. His parents, who didn’t have much, had gone out of their way to throw him a small birthday party at their home. Thomas had begged them to do this in hopes that it would finally help him make friends. Thomas used to have a few friends, but they deserted him, afraid that they too would become a target of bullying alongside him.

Regardless of all of this, Thomas had bravely gone ahead to invite many of his classmates who seemed less mean to his birthday party. Those ones had smiled and said they would come, but the meaner ones had scoffed openly. They had said that his party would be stupid and a waste of time. Thomas had admitted to Austin that he was truly scared that nobody would show up for his birthday, and that would just be the worst. Austin had been able to see from Thomas’s crestfallen expression how much his peers’ acceptance meant to him.

A surge of rage mingled with compassion had swept through him. He knew firsthand how it felt to grow up being treated badly by the ones you expected to be on your side. Austin had been small for his age when he’d been in his early teens, and for that, he’d faced ridicule. He’d been sickly as well, and that had escalated the whole matter because he had been considered weak too. He had three older brothers who used to play rough with him and often tried to play cruel tricks on him. One time, they’d locked him up in a dark closet for 6 hours with only water and biscuits. He’d cried, screamed until his voice got hoarse, and begged them to open up, but to no avail.

He’d only been 4 years old. Austin’s parents hadn’t been attentive, and that was how his brothers could get away with the mean things that they did to him. But when Austin was older, he’d started fighting back and resisting them until a squabble with one of his brothers resulted in him getting pushed down the stairs. He’d broken his arm and had to be rushed to the hospital. There, the medics had tried to get in touch with his parents for hours, and when that had proved abortive, they had involved Social Services. Social Services had investigated and discovered that Austin and his siblings were being neglected by their parents.

The house had been untidy, and there had been no food. They placed Austin in foster care, and luckily, his foster parents had been wonderful people. Austin only had four years with them before he became an adult, but it had been enough to paint a picture in his mind of what a healthy family looked like. He’d been loved and cared for; his foster parents’ faith in him had made him strive for a better life and actively pursue it. So Austin wasn’t ignorant of how mean kids could be and the long-term deteriorating effects because of it. He was determined to help Thomas. He had started off by declaring he would be attending Thomas’s birthday party. Thomas’s response had been a small, indulgent smile that seemed to say, “That’s really kind of you, but I know you won’t, and it’s okay.” Austin hadn’t tried to convince Thomas with words, but would show him in actions.

After Thomas got dropped off at school, he’d done his best to lay low, but he’d overheard some of his classmates gossiping about how a cop had dropped him off that morning. They’d speculated that he’d gotten into some trouble and giggled amongst themselves. Hearing the extent of their bad wishes for him, Thomas felt disheartened for the umpteenth time. He had considered asking his mother to change schools, but he knew how hard she worked and how tough it would be on her, so he continued to endure.

When school was over, Thomas had returned home and started setting up things for his party. His mom had returned home later than she’d promised and assisted him in the final touch-ups. It was a simple setup of juice and snacks. Thomas had a board of Snakes and Ladders and Monopoly too, but a birthday that had been supposed to start at 5:00 p.m. and end at 7:00 p.m. had no single guest in attendance. At 6:30 p.m., however, at 6:45, Austin had shown up for his birthday. Thomas burst into tears of relief and gratitude; he launched himself at Austin and wrapped his arms around his waist. Austin entered their home and saw that truly not one of Thomas’s classmates had shown up. He was also moved by the humble efforts of Thomas and his family. However, he noticed that there was no cake, and that’s when he began hatching a plan. But for now, he still needed to make Thomas’s birthday special.

So Austin sang a birthday song for the birthday boy. The cop also played a chess game with him and was kind and humble enough to let Thomas win. How sweet! By 8:30 p.m., Austin bid the family goodbye, holding back tears. Thomas threw himself into the cop’s welcoming arms and thanked him for making his day a memorable one. Little did he know, the surprises weren’t over yet. The following evening, Austin and a bunch of his fellow cops arrived at Thomas’s house with a cake, a Grand Rapids Police Department T-shirt that was Thomas’s size, a face cap, and a singing quartet.

The 9-year-old’s jaw dropped; he couldn’t believe his eyes. Then he started jumping and clapping, ignoring whatever looks his neighbors were giving him. He didn’t care about what anyone thought. Thomas proudly declared that this was his best birthday ever. He took many pictures with the cops and Austin; some of those photos made it to the Grand Rapids Police Department’s page on Facebook. It got shared up to 15,000 times. People praised Austin for his intervention when they learned of Thomas’s story, and they were sure that Thomas would never forget this kindness.

Because of the popularity of this incident, Thomas became more popular at school and made some genuine friends. The bullies also stopped picking on him. Austin created time to hang out with him sometimes and promised to be there