A photo that went viral on Facebook showed police officer Michael Castillo of Ansonia, Connecticut, fixing a chain on a bicycle belonging to a boy.
The 27-year-old officer originally was called to a Target store after a fight had broken out there. But when he got there, he found a group of boys that he recognized from the neighborhood and asked if they had been fighting. They all said they were only playing. The officer then noticed the chain on one of the boys’ bikes was all twisted. So he turned the bike over, got down on a knee, and fixed it.
Says Officer Castillo: “I fixed the chain and tightened up the tire and told them, ‘Alright guys, go play somewhere else besides the Target parking lot.’ They’re good kids.”
Faith Taylor took the photo of the officer and posted it to Facebook.
Says Faith: “I was hoping he’d get acknowledgment for it because how often does that happen. Everyone is willing to take a picture when a cop messes up, but that does not seem as prevalent when they do good. It was an amazing community police effort to show kids that they matter, that you can trust the police and ask them for help and that is what they’re there for.”
Photo courtesy: Faith Bisson