‘She doesn’t play about the kids’: school crossing guard receives Smiles Behind the Shield award
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — If you drive down Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile before school starts, you’ve probably noticed a woman blowing her whistle to caution you to drive slowly.
That whistle belongs to Community Resource Officer Tylandra Massey with the Mobile Police Department, and she’s not afraid to use it.
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Every day, Massey escorts students from Gilliard Elementary School across busy Dauphin Island Parkway, and if you think you’ll speed past her in a school zone, think again.
“She doesn’t, she don’t play about the kids, don’t play at all,” Samantha Harris said.
Samantha Harris drives down Dauphin Island Parkway twice a day to take her kids to school. She nominated Massey for our Smiles Behind the Shield award after seeing how serious she was about keeping the students safe and how much she loves her job.
Harris told WKRG News 5 about her first interaction with Massey.
“It was her honking telling me to slow down because I was going too fast, but I’ve developed a tremendous amount of respect for her because I see her do this every day,” Harris said. “She takes care of the kids; traffic keeps flowing, and she has this energy. You can’t help but notice her.”
WKRG had to see her in her element. We decided to round everyone up, including Massey’s supervisor and husband, to surprise her after her shift.
“I’m flabbergasted,” Massey said. “I’m really excited because I do love this job.”
Loving her job is pretty evident even to her supervisor.
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“The crossing guards for the City of Mobile Police Department, it’s a hard job,” CRO supervisor Amanda Lutman said. “We’re out here, you know, nine months out of the year, rain, heat, all of it, and she takes it serious, and she loves the kids, and it’s great.“
Massey has a message to drivers coming through her school zone.
“25 miles per hour when you come around DIP, Gilliard Elementary. Thank y’all,” Massey said.
Massey’s passion for her job and making sure the roads are safe for students to get to school every day is why we presented her with our Smiles Behind the Shield Award.
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