She Stopped In Her Tracks
Officer Chris stopped in her tracks in the middle of the now empty school hallway. She stares intently at the distraught student standing in the far corner of the hallway. The student was holding what seemed to be a very worn-out Kermit the Frog stuffed animal.
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Officer Chris couldn’t quite figure out why, but the student made her feel uncomfortable. Then, the student looked at her and they locked eyes. Suddenly, she had a terrible feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.
Dedication
Christine ‘Chris’ Morrison worked as a police officer at the Santa Rosa Police Department. She was a kind, caring, and dedicated woman. Every time she walked out of her front door to head to work, she did it with purpose.
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Despite the many bad things we hear about police brutality, she believed she was one of the good ones. She liked helping people and wanted to make a difference in someone’s life through her kindness and compassion.
18 Years
Before Chris became a police officer, she was a teacher for high-risk students for about 12 years. After quitting her job, she wanted to have a fresh start. So, she decided to try out at the Santa Rosa Police Department.
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In the end, she loved the job and loved helping people so she stayed. She has now been a police officer for 18 years. To this day, she still loves her job despite the bad stuff. She is determined to prove to the community that she’s one of the good ones.
Receiving A Call
Throughout her years as a police officer, she has seen it all. Or so she thought. She finished her cup of coffee and her slice of toast, then headed out her front door, ready to begin another day as a cop.
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As soon as she got inside the cruiser, her cellphone rang right away. She answered the call, and to her surprise, it wasn’t someone from the station calling. The call was from a local middle school teacher. Judging from the tone of her voice, she seemed worried.
Student Issues
“Hi, I’m Mrs. Jones from Herbert Slater Middle School, and I’ve got a student who’s having a problem,” the teacher said, her voice cracking. Officer Chris was confused as to why this teacher had to call a police officer for help.
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Nonetheless, when she got the call from the worried teacher, she was determined to help resolve the issue. So she was headed over to the school, but she had no clue as to what she would discover.
Why She Helped
Right away, Officer Chris agreed to help. This teacher needed some help and she wasn’t going to deprive help to those who needed it. She put her foot on the accelerator and drove in the direction of the school.
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Although Officer Chris wasn’t sure about why the teacher needed help, she still agreed to head over. She liked helping kids and she didn’t particularly have a nice middle school experience so she didn’t want any student to go through the same trouble she had.
Her Middle School Experience
Although it had been more than three decades since Officer Chris was in school, she didn’t have any fond of memories of her teenage life due to what she had gone through when she was just a middle school student.
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Back then, she was tormented by some middle school bullies. Even though many years had gone by, she could still sometimes hear their words in her head. So you see, she wasn’t too fond of going to any middle school.
Moving On
But all that was in the past now. She had moved on and have healed wounds. She was now a successful woman and an important person in the community. She had proved everyone who tormented her wrong.
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She sees herself in every bullied kid and that’s why she tries her best to offer help. And yet, despite all her efforts to move on and forget her past, her world was going to come crashing down once more.
Arriving At The School
Officer Chris arrived at the middle school, she stepped out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut. Several students gawked at her, probably confused as to why there was a police officer in their middle school.
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She paid no heed at the gawking students. She proceeded to walk in the direction of the school, completely oblivious of what she was going to encounter once she met the teacher who phoned her earlier.
Inside The School
As she entered the school corridors to meet Mrs. Jones, she tried not to remember her sad middle school days. However, that was proving to be a difficult task, what with all the students pointing and gawking at her.
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With all the staring and pointing, she was suddenly transported back to 1975—a time she tried the hardest to forget. As she was trying to push these unpleasant thoughts aside, she suddenly heard a scream that stopped her in her tracks.
A Screaming Student
The screaming came from one of the students. Right away, Officer Chris’s blood ran cold. Her police senses kicked in as she swiftly searched the area, trying to look for the source of that piercing scream.
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She knew these young kids often screamed when they were acting rowdy in the hallways, but she knew deep inside this was more than a normal scream. There was something about it that reminded her of something else.
Mrs. Smith
While she was trying to discern where the sound was coming from, a teacher appeared. She introduced herself as Mrs. Smith. She then led Officer Chris to a student who was standing in the corner of the long corridor.
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The student regarded Officer Chris with caution. She could tell from the student’s body language that the student didn’t want to be approached. She paid little attention to Mrs. Smith explaining the situation to her.
The Upset Student
As soon as Officer Chris laid her eyes on the student, she could tell that the student was anxious and distraught over something. She was standing in the corner of the room, holding what seemed to be a Kermit the Frog plush.
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While they were observing the student, Mrs. Smith told Officer Christ her name and her backstory. The little girl who seemed to be having problems was named Racquel. As soon as Officer Chris heard her story, she understood.
Racquel
You see, Racquel was a bit different from the other kids in her class. She had lots of bright ideas, but often she had trouble adjusting to her environment. So, sometimes she felt anxious and uncomfortable.
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Today, she seemed to be upset about something that happened and didn’t want to move away from the corner. So when Officer Chris heard, she wanted to help calm Racquel’s nerves. Little did she know, there was only one way to do it.
Approaching Racquel
It may have been nearly 20 years since she worked as a teacher, but that didn’t mean she still didn’t have the skills. Helping people is her passion after all, so she wasn’t going to let one student suffer a bad day in school.
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She then proceeded to approach the upset young girl and tried speaking to her softly. But the student was stubborn and refused to listen to her. Of course, that didn’t faze her. She decided to think of another way to go about it.
Singing
Then, Officer Chris came up with an idea that was simple but had an effect on Racquel. In the midst of a quiet corridor, she took a deep breath and sang out loud. She wasn’t a perfect singer, but she could definitely carry a tune.
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Everybody stood there and gushed over Officer Chris’s lovely voice. Mrs. Smith and the principal both bore witness to this scene unfolding in front of their very eyes. It was truly a sight to behold.
The Song
But it wasn’t the voice that made everyone gush—it was the song she chose to sing that made everything more meaningful, especially for Racquel. The song that she sang was Rainbow Connection, a song popularized by Kermit the Frog in 1979.
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You may wonder why she did that or why she chose the song. Well, Officer Chris saw that Racquel seemed to have a connection with Kermit the Frog, so she figured that she might be able to connect with Molly if she did that. Well, it definitely worked!
Racquel Loved It!
When Racquel heard Officer Chris’s angelic voice, a smile lit her face up. She loved the sound of her voice and loved the song she was singing. The adults stood in awe as they looked at this pure exchange happening.
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Nobody really expected Officer Chris to connect with Racquel like that. The fact that she did what she did made everyone appreciate her efforts even more. But nobody could have predicted what would happen after this exchange.
Going Viral
Mrs. Smith was in the hallway watching this beautiful moment unfold. It was obvious that Officer Chris had unlocked something in Racquel. Instead of looking upset, she now seemed delighted at this officer who was singing to her.
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Mrs. Smith captured everything on her mobile phone. She posted it online and just in a couple of hours, the video had blown up and Officer Chris had now gone viral. People around the world saw this wonderful moment.
Just An Act Of Kindness
Thousands of people appreciated Officer Chris and her simple act of kindness. It may have been a simple song, but the effort she put in made people appreciate her even more. Some adults don’t really have the patience for a child’s tantrums, but she was different.
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News stations saw this viral video and decided to do a story about it. For many, they appreciated that Officer Chris went out of her way to do something like it, but for her, it was just another act of kindness in the life of a police officer.