A touching photograph captures the moment when Interim Chief Snively of metro Atlanta police consoled a distraught child following the arrest of her mother’s boyfriend during a routine traffic stop.
The Morrow Police department shared the poignant image, emphasizing that Chief Snively was unaware of the photo being taken. The department explained that they had responded to support an officer in apprehending a driver. Upon arrival, they discovered a young girl and her mother inside the vehicle with the suspect.
As the child’s mother engaged with the police, Chief Snively noticed the little girl in tears. Without realizing he was being photographed, he knelt beside her, offering comfort, answering her questions, and providing an explanation of the situation.
Chief Snively recounted the experience on his LinkedIn profile, revealing that the child asked him if her mother’s boyfriend would ever return home. The heartbreaking question deeply affected him. “It ripped my heart out. I promised her that he was safe and that he would be home soon,” Snively wrote. The child, in response, nodded and then embraced him, laying her head on his shoulder and sobbing.
Despite the heartbreak of the situation, Chief Snively found solace in the fact that the child felt safe in his presence. Reflecting on the encounter, he shared his emotional response, stating, “There are many things in my life beyond my understanding, plenty of failures and disappointments. But one thing has always been clear to me: I know my purpose on this Earth. Today, God put me in a place to use it.”
He expressed gratitude for being in a position to fulfill that purpose and acknowledged that the sweet little girl had, in fact, done more for him than he could have done for her.