A Benton mother was shocked to hear a question about police from her young daughter, but knew exactly what to do. Stacy Drennan wrote on Facebook that her four-year-old asked her “if mommy and daddy were going to yell at each other.” She somehow got the idea that if they yelled, then an officer would come take her father away.
Stacy said her daughter, Adeline, has never heard them yell, but she realized the daughter’s friend unfortunately had a situation where it happened.
“I was heartbroken for her classmate and needed to do damage control to minimize the impact it had on my child,” said Stacy. “I am raising a little girl who may one day need a police officer. She has always been taught that police are good and if she ever needs help, go to someone in uniform. But this one incident had scared her. She didn’t want a police officer to come and take her daddy.”
So Stacy decided to call the Benton Police Department to ask if she could bring her little girl by to meet an officer and see them as the “good guys.” Stacy says the Police Department did so much more.
“Officer Pennington drove to our house [Friday night] to meet Adeline and her best friend, Gage. He brought stickers and stuffed animals, he let the kids climb inside his cruiser and play with the lights, he explained what police do and how they help people. The first few minutes, she hid behind my legs, but before all was said and done, she grabbed his hand and asked if he wanted to meet her ponies. He patiently walked over to the barn and talked horses with her before heading home.”
Stacy said this experience may save my daughter someday and Officer Pennington may be the reason she asks for help if she needs it.
“Tonight, I’m grateful that people like Officer Pennington exist in the world,” said Stacy. “I’m grateful that our police department values our children. I’m grateful that my child is safe and has no fear of ‘bad guys’ because the police make bad people go away while helping good people.”