No matter how good or the kindhearted you are, you are going to end up being judged now and then just because you are a part of a city where offenders dominate more than politicians. Independence, a city in Missouri, unlike its name, is not that independent of the transgressions and whatever happens here is kept within the boundaries of the city. The very first time this city's news reached out to people was in August 2019. Let's find out what was the news all about.
In August 2019, a city of Missouri named Independence experienced heavy rainfall. One such day of August marked the beginning of something new and revolutionary that shifted the people's attention from whatever the city was noted for.
Independence, generally known as "Queen City of the Trails" has a population of nearly 120,000. This city played an essential role in the early history of the latter-day Saint movement. Apart from that, this city holds up a glorious past related to the Civil Wars.
Independence has one of the highest crime rates in America with 63 per one thousand residents. Living in a city like this is not that easy. One has to live with the fear. Though people are trying to change the scenario but deep down, they are still living with this fear.
The city is always under the supervision of police officers. They are majorly seen patrolling the areas of Independence. The primary duty of the police department is "to protect life, individual liberty and the property of all people within the City of Independence; to develop and maintain a positive relationship with members of the community, and to foster a positive work environment for police employees."
With that motto, a police officer named Joe Holt was sent for the patrolling the nearby area when the sky showered the heavy drops of rain. Holt halted at the nearest Hy-Vee store so that he could grab something to eat. While he was waiting for his order to come, his eyes stuck on an old woman trying to cross the road.
Joe saw an old lady struggling hard to find a shelter in the pouring rain. She was trying hard not to slip and was cautiously placing her footsteps. The police officer watching her from a distance could do nothing but hope for her safety.
While watching the lady walk alone, Joe encountered an unusual thought of him getting older with time. He imagined himself in gray hair,a crooked back and toothless smile. He smiled and mumbled, "I wish I could turn back time to the good young days".
Rejoicing the imagination, Joe got disturbed by a boy who was hooded. Joe could see him running in the same direction where the old woman went. Joe, for a moment, realized that he was making a fuss out of the situation and he waited for his order to come.
Joe Holt thought of knocking the boy down since he felt that something bad is going to happen. But he was bound to stay still as he had no evidence to show and it would be unjust to arrest someone based on mere speculation.
Joe began to worry about the old lady, therefore, he tried to collect the evidence by capturing the series of events that were taking place. While he was capturing through his mobile phone, something happened that made the officer stand up and walk briskly outside.
Joe Holt was stunned by what he had witnessed so far. He saw the hooded figure coming back from the direction where he was running before. Holt followed the hooded guy and stopped in the parking area. Joe saw the guy getting in a car and noticed that the guy was not alone.
Joe saw that the person already sitting in the car was about to start the car. Joe ran towards the car and knocked on the window. Joe was surprised to see an elderly woman on the driver seat. Joe noticed that she was waiting for the boy for long and after he was beside her, she was all relaxed. He assumed that the lady was unaware of the incident.
The police officer without questioning anything told the whole story he has witnessed to the lady sitting inside the car. Joe could see the stream of tears rolling down the lady's cheeks which made Joe feel a little helpless. He waved goodbye and let the lady go.
While heading back to his car, Joe thought about the incident over and over. He concluded that the lady and the guy were mom and kid, he then concluded that whatever the guy did, the lady might have taught him to do so.
Joe Holt could not stop remembering that scene. It seemed as if he could not get over the actions that the hooded guy took. He looked over and over the picture he captured and finally, posted the picture online. He felt proud every time he recalled the incident hence, he wanted the world to know about it as well. Without further delay, he posted.
Holt used Facebook as a platform to reach out to people. He wanted the world to know the name of the guy and the things he did. The picture, he captured for keeping as a piece of evidence, was posted with a caption typed.
Joe Holt wanted to track the kid down, but he didn’t even have so much as a name. So, Holt used social media as a medium and used the power of the post he had shared. He captioned the post as “Do you know him?” and hoped for some positive responses.
The shared post went viral. People tried searching for the hooded guy. It spread as far as in New York and New Brunswick in Canada. The news was further picked up by local, national and international news outlets, and presently, the post has been liked over 6,000 times and has over 2,500 shares.
Days later, the hooded guy was identified as Tyrea Pryor. His identification was revealed by one of his family members who had called the police department to name the boy that Holt looking for. When the family members noted that the officer was trying to find him, they felt that it was the right thing to do.
As the crime rates were high in the city, people were used to the news of stealing, murdering and others. The teenager was unaware that he was being observed by the police officer. He continued doing what he wanted to which made him the talk of the town. He presented himself in a different way which made people think about the prompt actions he took.
When Holt spotted the teenager on that day, he was running through the parking lot and removing his jacket. For Joe, it was an unusual sight because most people put on their coats during a rainstorm. But, the teenager was doing the exact opposite of it. This made Joe Holt to keep a track on the teenager and to figure out what was the boy up to.
Joe Holt had his focus on the teenager and guessed what next step he could take. The teenager ran as fast as he could to meet the steps of the old lady who was struggling in the rain. Joe has seen many of the cases of theft and murders and according to that, he assumed that this would end up as a theft case. To his dismay, nothing of that sort happened.
The lady could barely see in that heavy rain. She was not even able to recognize her car. Completely baffled, she was running carelessly in the rain searching for her car which was being quite a challenging task for her. She could not ask for any help as no one was nearby. Without losing hope, she continued searching for her car so that she could go home.
Matching the footsteps with the lady, the boy successfully reached to her. Putting his jacket on the lady, he was able to provide warmth to her in that rainstorm. The teenager helped the lady to find her car in that heavy rain. Little did he know, he was being observed by the police officer sitting inside a food corner. After helping the lady, Tyrea came back to the place from where Joe Holt noticed him, that is, the parking area.
Following Tyrea, the police officer went to the parking area as well and found out that a lady was waiting for the teenager. The lady happened to be Tyrea's mother. When Joe told her the incident that took place, she could not keep her emotions intact and let her tears run down. She felt like a proud mother and was happy that her child was brought up well.
Holt could not stop praising Tyrea, he described his immense happiness 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 it first-hand.”The tonality of the post was appreciative. Moreover, Joe was condemned to see good people still existing in this world.
Holt continued his caption stating, “With all the hate-fueled by color, belief, sexual preference or race it actually p****s me off. Why, because most of it is based on what they read in the papers. Most isn’t based off personal experiences.” From this statement, one could easily make out that Joe was against any kind of differentiation.
Holt described, “This young black male [teen] exited the backseat 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.” Joe gave a detailed description of the boy so that he could be recognized by his known people.
Holt was impressed by the kind of attitude the boy had. Joe Holt continued, "he then walked back to his car all while not saying a word to his auntie or mom when he exited or re-entered.” Holt was surprised to see such a humble nature. The teenager did not announce his intentions because he was not seeking any praise for what he did.
As Holt later explained on Facebook, “I followed him to the van and approached 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 had done something wrong since I was in uniform.”
Findley, Tyrea's mother too was extremely proud of her teenage son. As Holt mentioned, “I told [Pryor’s] mom that she had 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 closed his Facebook post with a message and a promise, saying, “Kiddo If you see me on the street again, this guy owes [you] a dinner. You ever need anything I will come running to [you].” Holt's post was seen by many news agencies and Fox4 News was the first one to schedule an interview with Holt. He agreed for the interview because he genuinely wanted to appreciate Tyrea.
Holt, in an interview, explained to Fox4 News, “[Pryor is] the hero. I’m just the photographer in this situation. So it’s wherever he wants to go. It’s on my dime; so he can pick.” That was the very first time when Holt personally got to meet Tyrea. The police officer was already a big fan of the teenager and considering himself lucky to meet him.
In August 2019, Pryor explained to the news outlet WQAD, “I’ve been doing that since I was young, just like helping people,” He further clarified, “It looked like she needed help. I was raised to, like, do right toward anybody. It doesn’t matter what race or anything.”
Pryor’s mom Findley added to the Daily Mail, “I’m just overwhelmed, he has vitiligo, so it’s been overwhelming seeing people say all of these positive things about him. It makes me 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.”
Pryor was being appreciated for his act of kindness. On the Facebook post shared by Joe, one user commented, “Bravo! His mom must be so proud of him ‘cause I know I am.” Another added, “Our world would be such a better place if we could acknowledge good over evil… Thanks, young man, mom, and officer for doing the right thing.”
Even after grabbing the limelight, Pryor did not let fame affect his lifestyle. He is now a motivational speaker at schools around the Independence area. He actively volunteers his time in inspiring the students of fourth and fifth grade to achieve their ambitions. A lot of people were inspired by seeing a teenager fulfilling "humanitarian duties".
Tyrea's life changed after the post got viral. People used to call him with her mother's name back then, but now, the game has changed. People know Tyrea's mother by his name and this makes Findley utterly happy. Never in her wildest dreams, she had imagined her child becoming a news sensation just at the age of thirteen or fourteen.
Independence is a crime-free state in the making. For making this state free from all sorts of crimes, they'll be needing more police offers like Joe Holt, more kids like Tyrea Pryor and more mothers like Ebony Findley. Their selfless nature ultimately changed the perspective of people regarding the city. With such inspirations, the state would experience happiness and forget what "living in fear" feels like.