Picture Captures Beautiful Moment Between White State Trooper and Black Passenger During Traffic Stop in North Carolina
Over the past few years, we have been confronted again and again with stories of an encounter between a white police officer and a black citizen which ended in tragedy.
One story out of North Carolina, however, ended quite differently.
In June, CNN reported on the story of Ashlye Wilkerson of Rowan County, North Carolina, who was pulled over for speeding by state trooper Jaret Doty while driving her father Anthony “Tony” Geddis home from chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer.
At the time, Geddis was terminally ill and could not speak above a whisper. At first, when they were pulled over, both father and daughter were afraid, aware of the many times these encounters ended in tragedy.
“We were very mindful of how things can play out,” Wilkerson told CNN, but she said she also kept an open mind and did not want to judge Doty based on the actions of other police officers.
When Doty asked her for her license and registration, Geddis, slouched in his chair, whispered to Doty in his daughter’s defense, “This is my baby girl. She’s driving me home from a chemo treatment at the cancer center at Duke.”
Doty went back to his vehicle to run the license, but instead of examining Wilkerson’s record, he instead reflected on the similarities between himself and the Wilkerson family.
Like Geddis, he doted on his own daughter, and similar to Geddis, he had once suffered from ulcerative colitis and was at risk of colon cancer. Needless to say, he really felt for Wilkerson’s family at this moment.
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“I said that if I could touch one person or help somebody get through their illness, I would do it,” Doty recalled vowing when he was recovering from his own surgery.
So, instead of going back and giving Wilkerson a ticket, he went and asked Geddis if he could pray for him. Geddis agreed and Doty prayed with the pair before letting them off with a warning.
This traffic stop between a Black man and a White state trooper began with fear. It ended with a surprising act of kindness. https://t.co/J2rEqS16Km
— CNN International (@cnni) June 13, 2022
Two months later, Geddis died of his illness.
In a tribute to her father on LinkedIn, Wilkerson remembered the kindness of Doty, writing, “Heartfelt thanks to this officer who prayed for and with you that day.”
For years, we have been told by the left that the police are racist killers who are out to murder black people because of their skin color. This narrative really ramped up following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
In addition, this narrative was the impetus behind the disastrous “Defund the Police” movement — a movement that has led to a massive spike in crime across the nation.
But stories like this one indicate that the nation is not quite as divided as the media would have us believe.
The racial division in this country is fueled by the establishment media, who seek to divide the country in order to advance their agenda.
But Doty showed that the police are not out to murder innocent black people; they are concerned with protecting and serving all Americans regardless of their skin color.
This is a perfect example of the positive impact that police can have on communities. They are our fellow citizens who seek to serve all of us.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
