Joe Turner, an 8-year-old Fort Worth kid, faced his day of Judgment today.
The boy sat behind the wheel of a simulated police car Fort Worth officers call the Judgment simulator and navigated the scenarios faced by officers during normal times and emergency situations.
Turner also experienced training with the SWAT team, mounted police, and K9 units, and probably sat behind the chief’s desk and issued a few orders, too, maybe.
It was all part of a special day for Turner, who dreams of becoming a cop. Doctors last year diagnosed Turner with a kidney disease called Wilms tumor, and the Fort Worth Police Department put the boy through his training paces as part of his honorary induction into the force.
In addition to field and special operations training, Turner faced inspection conducted by Chief of Police Jeffery Halstead and meetings with various city officials. Hey, kid’s gotta learn that bureaucracy comes with rank.
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It had to have been a special day for Joe and the Turner family, which includes his parents and three brothers, and extra commendations for the department stepping to up to make the boy feel special.
Here’s betting, though, that one of those brothers perpetrated some brotherly shenanigans.
Bruce Felps owns and operates East Dallas Times, an online community news outlet serving the White Rock Lake area. He kind of likes a feel-good story from time to time. Warms his cold heart.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NBC, NBC 5, NBCDFW.com or its employees.
