By Police1 Staff
RIGBY, Idaho — A photo of an officer comforting an autistic boy in distress has gone viral on social media.
Officer Chris Scott saw Kyson, a nonverbal autistic 9-year-old, run out of a developmental disability agency that’s next door to the police station, KIFI reported. Kyson, who doesn’t do well with change, ran out of the building when he discovered he was assigned a new case worker.
“He looked like he kind of had a bad day, so I pulled over and I sat down,” Scott said. “I just sat there for a few minutes and let him do his thing.”
Kyson, who wants to be a police officer, pointed to Scott’s patch on his uniform. Scott gave him a challenge coin and asked him if he was ready to go back inside. Kyson’s caseworker took the photo without Scott realizing. It’s since been shared over 6,000 times.
“He took the time to make sure that he was okay, to comfort him,” Kyson’s mom, Jessica, said. “It just shows the compassion he truly had instead of just of moving on past it.”