The Story Behind This Adorable Police Dad-and-Baby Photo
Officer Phillip Haning was sworn into the Greenville Police Department on Tuesday. His six-month-old son looked ready to get sworn in, too. (Photo: Greenville Police Department)
A photo of a police officer at his swearing in on Tuesday shows that his six-month-old son may already be following in his footsteps.
When Officer Phillip Haning was sworn in for his first day with the Greenville North Carolina Police Department, he had his son, Nolan, his wife, and his parents supporting him. “Family is important to me, so I wanted them to be there for the occasion,” Haning tells Yahoo Parenting. “I know that, as a six-month-old, Nolan doesn’t understand what’s going on, but he’s a big part of my life so it was important to have him there.”
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But if a photo shared on the police department’s Facebook page is to be believed, little Nolan might have understood more than his dad thought. The photo shows Haning raising his right hand for the official swearing in, and Nolan, lying in his carseat behind his father, is doing the same. “This was too cute not to share,” the department captioned the photo. “Recruiting young! It looks like his son is ready to join the ranks as well!”
Haning thinks the photo, which has been shared more than 50 times, has struck a chord because people forget that cops can also be family men. “People look at police officers like robots, like there are no feelings or emotions to the job,” the 33-year-old officer says. “But when you look at this picture, you remember these people have families. There is more to life than being a cop, there is home life, too. It reminds us that one of the important parts of the job is to provide for your family.”
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After spending the last six months in the police academy, Haning says he was excited to have such a positive start to his career. “It’s nice that everyone was so accepting of the picture,” he says. “It was a good first day.”
As to whether he sees law enforcement in his son’s future? “He’s dressed in blue today,” he says. “So that’s a good sign.”
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