Murfreesboro Police Sergeant’s Kindness Toward Autistic Child Will Melt Your Heart

Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness make the biggest difference.

In this heartwarming story, Murfreesboro Police Sergeant Travis Henderson responds to a call about a young nonverbal autistic child who wandered away from his mother and into Target. Instead of simply returning the child, Sgt. Henderson used his Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, patience, and compassion to connect with him in a way that brought comfort during a stressful situation.

After realizing the child was focused on dinosaur toys, Sgt. Henderson purchased the toys himself to help keep him calm until he could be safely reunited with his mother.

A big thank you to the City of Murfreesboro and the Murfreesboro Police Department for allowing us to share this body camera footage. We also want to recognize the Target employee who showed incredible patience and kindness throughout the interaction.

Stories like this remind us that compassion can make all the difference.