Mom Praises Cop for Playing Dolls With Daughter During Gas Leak

Police and emergency services recently rushed to the Mecklenburg Manor apartment building in South Hill, Virginia, to investigate a possible gas leak. Waiting outside the apartment was Iesha Roper-Boswell, along with her terrified daughter and other children from the community. 

While the leak was deemed not a threat, the children were still understandably shaken by all the flashing lights. That's when 42-year-old police corporal C.B. Fleming decided to help calm the children down by laying own the lawn to play dolls with the girls and draw some chalk art with another group of boys. 

Iesha posted photos of C.B.'s good deed on Facebook, where they attracted hundreds of shares and dozens of positive comments. 

"He's awesome. That's the only word you can really use to describe C.B.," Iesha told WTVR. "It's just amazing, the bond he has with the children. They need someone who they feel is a superhero.

"People need the positivity," she continued. "I was telling him that my daughter, my niece, and some of the other children here were afraid of cops. So when he came and played with them, I captured that moment, not because I thought it would go viral, but it was amazing that my niece didn't break out into tears." 

"It's something I've always tried to do," C.B., a soon-to-be 15 year veteran of the force, said about his interaction with the children. "When I got into this job, I knew there was something different, other than just writing tickets and being the bad person all the time. I figured if I could be that bright spot in someone's day then that's all that mattered." 

C.B. hopes that his actions, and those of others, will help to improve the opinions some kids and adults have of the police.

"We had a lot of calls here when I first started.  I figured if I could let them know that I was an anchor point, that they could come and talk to me and trust me, then I could do some good."

"I want everyone, not just the kids... but the moms and dad... to know that they can come to me." 

Iesha seems to think his hardwork is paying off: "For him to make my child feel like she's safe, she doesn't even have to call 911, she just has to call C.B. if she's in trouble. I'm glad he made this part of his job," she said. "He's changed my daughter and niece's lives."