SAN DIEGO — A simple gesture from a San Diego police officer meant the world to a military mom and her two children Thursday morning.
As four-year-old Rileigh and her little brother Austin stood on the rocks at Shelter Island waving and trying their best to shout goodbyes to their dad who was about to leave on his first deployment on the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, Officer James Weaver pulled up next to the family in his police cruiser and asked if they needed a hand.
In her own words, Brettany Buetow, Rileigh and Austin's mother, re-created the heartwarming encounter in a Facebook post that has been shared almost 700 times:
Shout out to the San Diego Police Officer who pulled up next to us and asked if Raleigh and Austin wanted to tell their daddy they loved him as his ship went by, leaving for deployment. They got to speak into the microphone and say, “bye daddy, we love you!!”
Weaver said he spotted them and thought they might need a little help getting their tiny voices heard.
“I knew they'd like to do it, kids love to play with the PA on the patrol car so I figured why not,” Weaver said.
“The policeman was really, really nice," Buetow told 10News.
It was an emotional moment for the mom who said she teared up watching it, surprised by the police officer's incredible act of kindness.
Sandy Coronilla is a digital producer for KGTV 10News. Follow her on Twitter @10NewsSandy
