Photo of Police Officer Comforting Lost Boy Goes Viral
Police officer comforts young boy found at town festival.
— -- Last weekend was just a normal work weekend for Officer David Taylor. He was patrolling the International Rice Festival in Crowley, La., when a woman brought a young child to his attention: the boy had gotten lost in the crowd.
That’s when Taylor picked him up and comforted him until the boy’s mother was found half an hour later.
“He was extremely upset...I put him on my shoulders to see if he would be able to see his parents,” said Taylor. “He started to fall asleep, and I moved him down to my chest.”
A photo of Taylor holding the sleeping child has been "liked" more than 5,000 times on Facebook.
Taylor, who has worked at the Crowley Police Department for 18 months, told ABC News that he’s not a fan of all the attention he’s gotten, saying he was just doing his job.
“What I was doing is nothing different from the rest of our law enforcement colleagues. The only difference is that someone took a photo of me,” he said, adding that he doesn't know the name of the child or of the boy's mother.
Taylor said he’s grateful for the kind wishes he’s received and hopes this incident helps to change people’s perceptions of police.
“If it shines a true light on what police officers do and can do, then [this attention] is a good thing,” he said.
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