No two days are the same for those who answer the call to serve in the police force.
An officer in West Virginia proved that this week when he discovered a baby, covered in vomit, lying in the back of a car whose driver had been pulled over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The driver was the child’s mother.
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph said the woman was arrested after she was stopped a mile from a West Virginia State Police station in the town of Princeton on Tuesday. The child was handed over to protective services, but not until the one-year boy had been given a bath, and a bit of TLC, by one of the officers on duty.
Senior Trooper DC Graham washed the youngster in the sink of the unit’s kitchen, wrapping him in a towel, and then cradling him. The West Virginia State Police posted the image on its Facebook page.
Lt Michael Baylous told The Independent he was not surprised by the actions of Mr Graham, given that all officers were repeatedly reminded of the need to both protect and serve the community.
“Our superintendent has been stressing the service message,” he said. “Our officers are part of the community and they serve the community.”
He said Mr Graham was a parent himself, and that he was no stranger to bathing a child. Mr Baylous said: “Somebody said that the moment they saw his face in the photograph, they knew he was a parent.”
The woman who was arrested, and the baby, have not been named. The baby has since been returned to a member of the extended family.
