In his seventh year as a police officer with the City of Hapeville Police Department, Officer Eric Colleran knows that many investigations are far different in reality than from the many calls that are reporting suspicious activities.
And we as a community know far too well that many calls to law enforcement reporting black brothers and sisters just going about their day often end up in senseless tragedy.
Said Officer Colleran, “You might be told one thing over the radio, and when you show up on scene it’s something completely different.”
16-year-old Keonte Evans is a sophomore high school student, caring and dutiful oldest brother and ardent gamer.
And desired to up his game in both, as it were.
He knocked on doors to see if anyone needed yard work that could do with some sprucing up.
Anything… mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, cutting grass and trimming hedges, sorting, hauling… anything.
Keonte set two goals.
First, to buy new school clothes for his five younger siblings, as the school year is coming up, and when that was complete, to buy himself a new PlayStation PS5.
He has taken it upon himself to help his single mother in any way he could.
He indeed got a job offer after the first few knocks, and was in the yard doing just that.
When someone didn’t like what they saw, and instead of talking with him, or the neighbor who hired him, called the police.
Wanting a ‘trespasser’ to be ‘removed from the area.’
How often that has turned deadly.
Officer Colleran spent a few minutes talking with Keonte and felt the bond.
He too is a brother to siblings, and he too is a gamer.
And was moved by both Keonte’s drive to help his family, and towards his respectful and soft-spoken demeanor.
He took down the information, and spoke with the ‘concerned neighbor’.
And left Keonte to continue his work.
Which wasn’t enough.
Once back at the station, he spoke of Keonte.
He felt compelled.
And in a short time, he and others raised many hundreds of dollars.
Officer Colleran purchased the $600 plus PlayStation and accessories.
A few days later, he showed up to the Evans house and asked to speak to Keonte.
He had told Keonte he would be checking in on him, so Keonte was expected it.
He had something to show him in the trunk.
Rarely something that turns out as good as this, the circumstances what they are.
And so it goes.
Said Officer Colleran, “I didn’t do any of this to end up on the news. I was just trying to help him out and let him understand that if you work hard and are honest, good things will come to you.
Where I work, you only deal with people, you know, usually in their worst moments.
I see somebody when I saw him, and I knew it was gonna take him a while doing some yard work to be able to get what he wanted. So I just thought I could speed it up and do it for him and then whatever he you know, saves up doing yard work from now on, he can just spend straight on him and his other siblings.”
Said Keonte, “Somebody did this for you. The game is so expensive. You can’t do anything but be so excited. So, I gave him a hug. A big hug at that. A very big hug. It’s so sweet. Many people don’t do these things for kids.”
Eric said raising the money just took a few days.
“I think most people are just good people. They’re willing to give, even people that may not have enough to give all on their own, because they know that it only takes a few dollars to change somebody’s year.”
Evans’ mom said that it wasn’t necessarily even the new Playstation that struck her when she got home that night. She had forbidden Evans from doing yard work, afraid of another police call. She says she worries a lot about what could have happened to her son, and she was incredibly proud of the way her son handled the situation and the reward he’d received for it.
“It made me feel so, so good,” Gabrielle Evans said. “It made me feel like I did a good job raising my son. I was so shocked that the police had seen that in my son.”
After going into the house for a few minutes, Keonte came rushing back out of the house and over to Eric.
He wanted to hug the officer one more time, which was obliged.
I mean, who doesn’t enjoy being the recipient of an earnest hug or two?
And more, Keonte was purchased and given an online gaming membership so he could start playing that very day.
And the officer told him that they are on the same team, and so they would be playing on the same team online as well, as soon as Keonte’s new system was up and running.
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As I was reading and absorbing the comments, this comment compelled me to delve further…
Thank you so much for this incredibly uplifting story. I wish there would have been some information from wherever you got the story in terms of news that somebody might’ve put together a donation page to help buy clothes for him and
the siblings.
And sure enough, I found a GoFundme page to help raise the funds for clothes, shoes and school supplies for Keonte and his family.
It’s been $105 for days.
May I join Cal Dem and suggest that we as a community be part of the story and help complete the cycle of grooviness?
Let’s keep the ball that Eric started rolling.
They’ll never know. But we will :-)
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