Note: we are republishing this story, which originally made the news in August 2016.

A police officer in Georgia comforted an 8-year-old boy who was injured during a car crash on an interstate.

Commerce Police Sgt. Kay Denton snapped a photograph at the scene that showed fellow officer Cpl. Christopher Holly’s act of compassion, according to WSB-TV.

The 8-year-old had been trapped under a mangled car. Denton was worried about the child’s fate until she witnessed Holly’s interaction with him, writing: “This child was an eight-year-old black male who was scared to death and had some internal injuries. This officer laid on the ground with this child, cradling his head in his hand and talking to him to keep him calm.”

Holly also learned the accident happened on the boy’s birthday.

“At one point the child reached over and patted the officer on the head and then played with the officer’s hair!” Denton wrote.

She finished by writing: “THIS is why I’m a police officer, to help people, to be there for them no matter what the circumstances and no matter what skin color! With all the ‘anti-police’ propaganda that is seen in the media, all of the ‘bad cop’ stories, and stories of ‘racial’ issues, I wanted to share THIS.”

Officer Holly has been with the Commerce Police Department since 2013, according to WSB-TV.

Sources: WSB-TV