Houston Cop Comforting 5-year-old
"Are you gonna shoot us?"
By Nick Givas
Texas police officer comforts crying girl during anti-racism protest: I'm here to protect you
The officer comforted the crying five-year-old after she asked 'are you going to shoot us?' during a protest in Houston.
An unidentified Houston police officer was caught on tape comforting a small child on Tuesday, during a protest over the death of George Floyd.
Simeon Bartee, the little girl's father who filmed the video, posted the footage to Twitter with a written message.
"During the protest in Houston yesterday one of the police officers noticed my daughter crying," he tweeted on Wednesday. "She asked him 'Are you gonna shoot us' he got down on one knee wrapped his arm around her and responded."
Bartee said his daughter Simone, 5, asked the officer if she and her family could protest and if the officers were going to shoot her.
"We're here to protect you," the officer replied. "We're not here to hurt you at all. OK? You can protest, you can party -- you can do whatever you want. Just don't break nothing."
When Bartee spoke with ABC's Houston affiliate KTRK about the encounter, he thanked the officer for his kindness and for giving him a glimpse of what good law enforcement can look like.
“We have dealt with a lot of pain from that and it's kind of gone full circle for me now,” he said. “I just want to tell the officer thank you for giving me a different perspective on what police officers, the good police officers, are like.”
Bartee also said the officer told him he was a father, which surprised Simone, who later mentioned it to her dad.
“She looked up at me and said, 'I didn’t know police officers had kids,'" he added.