SC mom asks deputy for a favor for her son. His response ‘forever changed my outlook’

A South Carolina mother says that the actions of a Greenville County Sheriff’s deputy have changed her “outlook on officers,” after his interaction with her son earlier this month.

Nicole Rector said she was in a parking lot on Woodruff Road in Greenville County, when her 4-year-old son, Nicholes, spotted a Greenville County Sheriff’s deputy in the middle of a car search, according to Fox Carolina.

“Mommy look,” Rector recalled in a social media post. “An officer... I want to give him a hug!”

Rector said she was reluctant of the idea, “given all that is going on in the world with officers and African-Americans.” But she still rolled down the window and asked the deputy, if he was open to giving her son a hug. She added she was “frozen with fear” as she awaited his response. But to her surprise, the officer “lit up with excitement.”

“After watching this complete stranger who looked nothing like us... embracing my child as if he was his own.. it dawned on me...No matter what happens.. There are some officers who are really here to protect and serve ALL,” Rector wrote on Facebook.

The deputy – who she identified as Scott Heath – gave Nicholes a “deputy sheriff” badge, showed him around the car and let him play with the lights, Rector said.

But Heath was not done.

He asked Rector for her address. Heath said he wanted to send Nicholes “something.” Heath showed up at their home on Friday with a package with toys for Nicholes and a handwritten note.

“You have forever changed my outlook on officers,” Rector said. “We need more like you... Thank you.. May you forever be blessed and shielded with God’s grace and Mercy.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 9:23 AM.