Most people would agree that being a police officer is very much like being a superhero. But one police officer, Damon Cole of Fort Worth, Texas, has taken things above and beyond.
Heroes and Cops Against Childhood Cancer
When Officer Cole isn’t in his official uniform, he can often be found in another–one of the several super hero costumes he has purchased to visit children at local hospitals.
It started as a Superman symbol sewn onto his bullet proof vest. He used to show his “secret” logo to children he met on the job, doing his best to earn trust with them. Writes Officer Cole on his website, “At this point the children go crazy, and they usually ask me where my cape is. I tell them that I cannot wear it with my uniform because it will get wrinkled. From that moment on that child will always remember me and that can make it easier for me to help them in the long run, because they trust me.”
Officer Cole’s little trick has grown into something much more special. Now he wears various superhero costumes to visit children with cancer in the hospital. He sees them as real fighters, and heroes and inspirations in their own way. He drives hours upon hours, miles upon miles, to visit these children. He has even attended funerals of children he knew who lost their battles with cancer.
Damon Cole has also started a charity called Heroes and Cops Against Childhood Cancer. “I give every child I go see an arm band with ‘Heroes and Cops Against Childhood Cancer’ on it,” says Cole. “I tell them that it has super powers on it and it will help them beat cancer or whatever illness they are dealing with but they have to do one thing for me. I then tell them that they can NEVER GIVE UP, they have to keep fighting for me.”
