SUMTER, S.C. – A South Carolina police officer went above and beyond his duties for a 13-year-old boy.
Officer Gaetano Acerra said, “I gave her my cellphone number so he can call me anytime he wants.”
A few weeks ago, 13-year-old Cameron Simmons called police after fighting with his mother, saying he didn’t want to live there anymore.
Officer Acerra said, “I said, ‘You have it good. You have a roof over your head and I told him I would try to help him out, and here we are now.”
Acerra brought Cameron home and noticed the boy didn’t have a real bed and didn’t really have any furniture.
He said, “My heart went out for him. I thought the little things that he needed I could give him to make him a happier kid.”
Acerra came back with a bed, television, desk, chair and a Wii gaming system.
He said, “It was the right thing to do.”
Cameron says he is sleeping like a king in his queen-sized bed.
Acerra said, “He said to me, ‘Now, my back won’t hurt when I sleep.”
Officer Acerra says he is getting a lot of praise for his actions but that wasn’t the point of the gesture.
He said, “I didn’t do this for publicity or to get people to notice me. I did it because I could. And it was the right thing to do and I think people should do things like this.”
He says what he has gained is worth more than the furniture.
He said, “I put a smile on this kid’s face and a friendship. I think that’s well worth it.”
Acerra says he plans to bring Cameron a dresser and mirror.
