Starkville police officer builds relationship with area children

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- It’s not always easy carrying a badge.

There is danger and, for some, trust issues.

However, in Starkville one police officer is building a relationship with some of the city’s youngest citizens.

Remember the book All I Really Need To Know, I Learned In Kindergarten?

The very young students at Mighty Oaks Day Care are learning what it means to be a good citizen of the world from their newest friend.

“As soon as I come up, it’s like whatever they were doing, they just stop and just come to the gate. Just ‘hey I want stickers! I want stickers! Can I see your bike? What do you do? What is that?’ That right there is awesome to me…It’s a joy that nothing else can fulfill,” said Starkville PD’s Will Simon.

Simon drives by Mighty Oaks Child Development Center almost every day while on duty.

He said the children always wave to him as he passes by, so one day he had an idea.

“Now you’re all officially junior deputies,” said Simon.

“The next time I came by I just blew the horn at them and they were just so ecstatic, so one time I just came on in and they all just met me here at the gate. It just went from there. The relationship started, and they just look forward to seeing me every time I pass by, you know,” said Simon.

It’s a relationship that teachers at Mighty Oaks said they encourage.

“I don’t know what made him make that decision, but it was a great one. He just decided to pull into our parking lot and then he got out and he talked with the kids for about an hour. They had so many questions. They were so excited. He ended up making them official junior deputies, and that just made their whole week,” said pre-k teacher Mia Mckenzie.

Now, officer Simon stops by almost weekly to bring the children small gifts like drawings or stickers.

“What you don’t want me to leave? But I have to go back to work,” said Simon.

And they give something back to him in return.

“It kind of does something for me. It let’s me know, hey my presence is meaningful. My presence is more than just giving someone a ticket or something like that. So, just that energy that they give off to me, it lets me know that hey, if I can continue doing something small, day by day, that could make a small or possibly major impact on their lives,” said Simon.

Officer Simon hopes his impact will help change the public’s opinion of law enforcement for future generations.

REPORTER: “What does a police officer do?”

“‘They help the people that are hurting sometimes,” said 6-year-old Kate.

“Give us stickers,” said 6-year-old Quan.

“They keep bad guys from messing things up,” said 5-year-old Barrett.

“He brings us treats,” said Kate.

“They see a hero that they see on TV or in movies and things like that in person. They understand that one day they can be that if they choose to be,” said Mckenzie.

Officer Simon hopes his influence doesn’t stop with the children at Mighty Oaks.

“It’s not for me. It’s not for any other media outlet to put a type of shine on myself. It’s for the kids and the unaware people, the uneducated people, of what we do and why we do what we do,” said Simon.

Teachers at the daycare said it’s important for Children to feel safe when law enforcement is around.