Officers walk five-year-old son of dead policeman into school for his first day
A small child was escorted to his first day of kindergarten by his mom and a large group of armed officers acting as 'fill-in dads' in honour of their lost coworker, the child's father.
South Salt Lake Police Officer David Romrell was killed in November 2018, leaving behind a then 4-month-old son. Now, the boy is starting kindergarten, so his father's former coworkers arrived on the scene to see him off.
He was struck and killed by two suspects who were fleeing the scene of a burglary.
Officer Romrell was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the South Salt Lake Police Department for 11 months. Officer Romrell was the first South Salt Lake Police Officer killed in the line of duty. He is survived by his wife and son.
Jackson Romrell, 5, was pictured holding his mum's hand as they walked to school together - followed by at least 10 uniformed officers. The police department shared photos of them surrounding the child as they put him on a police motorcycle for a photo op and stood around the school with the boy in the middle.
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At least 10 officers from a Utah police department spent their morning escorting a 5-year-old to school, after the child lost his dad when he was just 4 months old (South Salt Lake Police Department)
South Salt Lake Police Department sent what they called "fill in ‘Dads’" to walk a boy who lost his father in the 'line of duty' (South Salt Lake Police Department)According to Fox News, the South Salt Lake Police Department honoured fallen officers, including Romrell, with a Utah Fallen Officer Motorcycle Ride a day earlier. Jackson and his mom attended and took pictures of the child on the kid's bike in honour of his father.
"He devoted his entire adult life to serving his country and the community and made a lasting impact on all who had the fortune to know him," reads a remembrance for Officer David Romrell on the website. He served several tours with the Marines before settling down to become a police officer.
Reports from NowThisisNews and Entrepreneur.com say that a 2013 social media survey from the International Association of Chiefs of Police found that 73 per cent of police agencies say social media helps improve police-community relationships in their local areas.
Jackson was just 4 months old when his father, South Salt Lake Police Officer David Romrell, was killed in November 2018 (South Salt Lake Police Department)Public events, as well as posting about non-violent successes, like escorting a child to school, are part of a huge increase in social media usage by police departments across the US.
Social media usage has also improved the departments' abilities to communicate vital news to the community as well as solve crimes. Sites like Facebook and Twitter provide an easy tipline that can be anonymous between the public and law enforcement.
A 2022 Gallup poll found that 45 per cent of surveyed American adults have confidence in the police, down 3 points from the previous low of 48 per cent, following George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
An event the previous day was held in honour of fallen officers (South Salt Lake Police Department)Additionally, spreading 'goodwill' through social media is supposed to help departments find new recruits, something many law enforcement agencies have struggled with throughout the US since relations between police and civilians have hit a low. “
Traditional recruiting isn't working,” says Emma Mae, a marketing specialist for PoliceApp, an online recruitment agency that works with more than 700 police departments in the US. Not only are police on social media, they're also using targeted ads to find more recruits, she says.
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