When a Henrico County police officer pulled over Chy-Niece Thacker for having broken brake lights on September 1st, 2017, it wasn’t to write her a ticket. In fact, Officer Jenkins was the very definition of a public servant sworn to “protect and serve” that day.

Thacker was on her way to an interview when she saw Jenkins’ flashing lights and since she had just had her brake lights replaced, she was both confused and frustrated when the officer told her they were both out.

As she fumbled around for her license and registration, Jenkins told her not to worry about it – he was simply concerned for her safety.

Thacker told WTVR News that Jenkins said: “I don’t want anyone slamming into the back of you.”

As Thacker explained to the officer that she had just paid $600 to have her brake lights fixed, he asked her to pop the trunk. That’s when she got out of her car and snapped a few photos of the helpful officer. She posted them to her Facebook page and they immediately went viral.

Her 2017 post now has over 112k shares and nearly half a million reactions on her page alone. It was also shared by the department.

In her caption, Thacker explained:

“So this happened just now. I’m on my way to go to my interview this morning when I get pulled. Both brake lights decided to go out this time. As he walked to the car and I was pulling out my stuff, he quickly said, ‘Don’t worry about pulling anything out. I just want you to know that your brake lights are out.’ So I’m immediately upset, because I just got them replaced like last month. So I explained to him how Firestone wants to charge me $600 just to run a test on the wiring of the car. He looked at me like 😨 and told me to pop the trunk.”

After Thacker popped her trunk, Officer Jenkins tested her lights for her.

“He checked the lights in the trunk and tapped them, but they didn’t come on. So he told me to pop the hood to check the relay box then asked me to get out to check the other one. He could’ve easily given me a ticket, but Officer Jenkins stepped out of officer role and into mechanic role to make sure I was straight.”

She hashtagged her post #HesABlessing.

The Henrico County Police Department reposted the photos on their own Facebook page with the following message:

“Thank you Chy-Niece Thacker for sharing this about one of our officers,” they wrote on Facebook. “We are so proud of our officers, especially when we see citizens share things like this. Above and beyond the call of duty, Officer Jenkins. Service to our community is what it’s all about,” they said.

Many commenters in the area expressed not only their appreciation for a citizen sharing a positive encounter with the police but praised the entire department for fostering a culture of service in their community.

We don’t know how Thacker’s interview went, but she certainly had a good story to tell if she was late.

Be sure to scroll down below for her original viral Facebook post.

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Source: WTVR News, Henrico County Police via Facebook, Chy-Niece Thacker via Facebook