After A Cop Saw How A Teen Treated An Elderly Lady, He Had No Choice But To Hunt Him Down

after a cop saw how a team treated an elderly lady he had no choice but to hunt him down [Music] August 20 1910 ager tyria Pryor was in a grocery store parking lot in Independence Missouri when someone caught his eye it was an elderly lady struggling with her shopping among the cars then without a second thought the teenager ran toward her and began to remove his coat but little did he know a police officer was watching officer Joe Holt was sitting in his patrol car after stopping off for a bite to eat and he saw a young Pryor running over to the old woman in need however the cop was taken aback by what the team did next stunned by what he just witnessed Holt followed Pryor back to the vehicle from which the latter had originally emerged his mom was there and the officer explained what he'd just seen her son do but it didn't surprise her after all it wasn't the first time despite that she found it hard to hold back the tears but Holt wasn't done yet he'd actually taken a picture of the teenager catching him in full flight and the officer wanted to make an example of him so he posted the image showing Pryor helping the woman on Facebook Holt's Facebook post soon went viral and it was then that he recognized that he should do something the cop needed to track the kid down but he didn't even have so much as a name so Hulk used the power of the post he had shared and asked the Internet do you know him Holt serves the independence Police Department east of the Kansas City area Missouri although he served as a police officer for several years he was sworn into his current jurisdiction in June 2018 but even with the resources of the force at his hand finding the teenager would be a task Independence has a population of nearly 120,000 and given that Holt hadn't taken the teenager or his mom's name where would he begin to search well as it happened crucial help came after his Facebook post went viral and the story made it to the national news the teenager was soon identified as tyria prior and as it happened it was one of his family members who had called the police department to name the boy that Holt was looking for naturally when they saw why the police officer was trying to find him they must have felt that it was the right thing to do according to neighborhood scout a lot of the offenses and independents are property crimes including burglary car theft larceny and arson in fact the FBI notes that the city has among the highest rates of vehicle theft in the United States it's an unfortunate statistic that independence AUSA is among the highest violent crime rates in the US according to neighborhood scout the local force employs just over 200 commissioned police officers and the department has a clear mission statement the independence Police Department says that its aims are to protect life individual liberty and the property of all people within the city of Independence to lower crime and disorder in the community to develop and maintain a positive relationship with members of the community and to foster a positive work environment for police officers as part of the independence Police Department's mission statement had a particularly strong bearing on holt on the day of August 20 19 it's typical for cops on patrol around Independence to work 12-hour shifts so inevitably Holt eventually grew hungry and needed to grab something to eat hungry Holt pulled up outside a local hyvee store to grab some food for those who don't know hi V is a retailer with locations across eight Midwestern states however it doesn't just sell groceries the store Holt visited offers fast food options with an on-site Chinese takeaway and Italian restaurant - so with the culinary options available to Holt he wasn't short of food choices however as an officer his senses are no doubt on full alert especially on duty and before he exited his vehicle something caught his eye across the parking lot what do you need to jump into action to further set the scene rain was lashing down in that August day but it wasn't the inclement conditions that caught Holt's attention perhaps he hadn't expected to see anyone exposed to the elements given how hard the rain was falling holts spotted a teenager later identified as prior running through the parking lot and removing his jacket as he did so an unusual sight for sure especially when most people would probably put on their coats during a rainstorm but Pryor wasn't the only person outside getting wet at that moment in time an elderly woman was struggling in the rain walking to her car and she wasn't wearing a coat hold for his part sat back and watched as Pryor ran over to her and was warmed when he saw what the teenager did next as Holt described in his Facebook post so today I experienced something that actually set me back a little it didn't set me back because I was shocked but because I got to witness at firsthand so what was it that the teenager did to throw the cop off-guard Holt continued with only hate fueled by colour believe sexual preference or race it actually pisses me off why because most of it's based off what they read in the papers most isn't based on personal experiences in reality what the police officer saw Pryor do was an act based on love not hate as Holt described this young black male teen exited the back seat of a van he was in while it was pouring with rain and he took his coat off and protected this elderly white female from the environment the best he could all the way to her car but there was something else that stood out to the officer to what impressed Holt was that prior did the act as if on autopilot the former continued he then walked back to his car all while not saying a word to his auntie her mom when he exited re-entered Pryor didn't need encouragement and nor did he need to announce his intentions or seek any praise so the touching gesture hit Holt hard he thought the teenager deserved to be recognized for what he had done so as the cop mentioned after Pryor helped the old woman back to her car he headed back to his with his mother behind the wheel and the police officer followed him to the vehicle as Pryor's mom evany Finlay saw a cop approaching her vehicle her first instinct was fear she was concerned she'd done something wrong after all she had no idea what her son had just done as hope later explained on Facebook I monolid him to the van and approach the driver who was his mom I told this young man I was impressed and he should be proud because I was his mom had no idea what was happening because she thought she'd just done something wrong since I was in uniform in fact Pryor's mom Finley was far from in trouble and when hope described what he had just seen her son do she couldn't hold back tears the cop told Fox 4 News in August 2019 I was just totally thrilled by it I couldn't let it go unnoticed and Finley too was visibly proud of her teenaged son as Holt wrote on Facebook I told Pryor's mom that she'd done an amazing job with him and I pray he goes places she started tearing up because I was a cop and took time out of my day to call him out on what I witnessed Holt continued in his post this kid cared less about race religion or color the only thing that's get cared about was being kind but another surprise awaited Holt when he shared the story on Facebook Holt posted an image on the social media platform that he'd snapped from his cruiser showing prior sheltering the elderly lady from the downpour with his jacket the teenager can be seen placing his arm gently around her shoulders as he guides her to her parked car amid the pouring rain the heartwarming image and story soon went viral reaching as far away as New York and New Brunswick from Canada it was further picked up by local national and international news outlets and to date it's been locked over 6,000 times Anne's hand over 2,500 shares all closed his facebook message with a promise saying kiddo if you see me on the street again this guy owes you a dinner if you ever need anything I'll come running to you however inspired by the teens actions the officer realized he needed to take it a step further as a reminder part of the independence Police Department's mission statement is to develop and maintain a positive relationship with members of community and that's exactly what Holt intended to do so instead of a passive invitation to dinner if their paths happen to cross again Holt put out word four prior to contact them of course Pryor hadn't been in any trouble on that rainy day in the parking lot and hope hadn't thought to take down his mom's name however the story had gained such a momentum that within a week a member of Pryor's family came forward with the teenagers identity s hope explained to Fox 4 News Pryor is the hero I'm just the photographer in the situation so it's wherever he wants to go it's on my dime so he can pick as it happened the teenager chose Red Lobster where Hulk kept his word for both him and his mom I've been doing that since I was young just like helping people Pryor explained a news outlet WQAD in August 2019 he further clarified it looked like she needed help I was raised to like do right towards anybody it doesn't matter what race or anything and although Holt had reduced his mom to tears when he'd explained her son's actions it wasn't exactly a surprise he's always helping people cutting their grass taking their groceries in for them and always helping the elderly mom of three Finley described to the Daily Mail in August 2019 that's my baby he's my oldest but he'll always be my baby Pryor is now a motivational speaker at schools around the independence area volunteering his time inspiring fourth and fifth graders to achieve their ambitions as for her part his mom explained that she's been touched by all the wonderful things people have said about her teenage son and the messages they'd left for him writing on the Facebook post about Holt's heartwarming experience with Pryor one user commented Bravo his mom must be so proud of him because I know I am another added our world would be such a better place that we could acknowledge good over evil thanks young man mom and officer for doing the right thing Pryor's mom Finlay added on The Daily Mail I'm just overwhelmed he has vitiligo so it's been overwhelming seeing people say all these positive things about him it makes me so happy and brings joy to him kids can be rough and cruel sometimes this is a thing we deal with so I'm glad this was so positive vitiligo incidentally is a condition that causes white patches on the skin however well Finley held immense pride for Sun and the positive vibes he shares she also had praise for hold she told WQAD one he felt that day and the compassion he had was wholehearted so I appreciate him Finley is understandably proud of her son who she says absorbs life and its lessons like a sponge and it's an example that Pryor hopes we'll all learn from amazingly the teenager even scored a job at high V out of his random act of kindness that day he told WQAD doesn't matter who it is just do what you know is correct