News

Mass. police chief moved by young boy's chivalrous act

SOUTHWICK, Mass. — More than two weeks later, a well-mannered young man's chivalrous act still has Southwick's police chief talking.

Chief Kevin Bishop said he was on Hillside Road the morning of November 1 when he found himself behind a school bus that stopped to pick up three children waiting of the side of the road near The Ranch Golf Club.

Bishop said he saw a boy, around 9 years old, and two girls, about 6 to 7 years old, start to walk across the street. The boy was about a dozen steps ahead of the girls.

Expecting to see the boy jump on the bus, Bishop was surprised to see him suddenly stop dead in his tracks.

"To my amazement, the young man waited for the two younger female passengers to approach and board the bus ahead of him," Bishop said. "After the young ladies boarded the bus, he followed as well."

Bishop said he was so moved by the heartwarming gesture, he felt complex to drive over to the man and woman who had been waiting with the children, assuming they were his parents.

He said he introduced himself and told the pair what he had just saw. The woman pointed to the man and said he is the father of the boy.

"I turned to the gentleman and informed him how impressed I was and thanked him for raising his son to be a such a fine gentlemen [sic]," Bishop recalled.

Bishop said he drove away with a smile on his face and a reaffirmed faith in the younger generation.