Police, Firemen Become Substitutes so Teachers Can Attend Colleague’s Funeral

Police and firefighters in Greenwood, Arizona are drawing praise today after their kind gesture has gone viral.

According to CBS’s KFSM 5 News, local police and some firemen filled in as substitute teachers on Wednesday so that staff at the school could attend the funeral service for a fellow teacher, Jennifer Nelms, who passed away last Saturday, apparently of complications from lupus.

“She just, I think, took whatever she was thrown and just spin it positively,” said one of Nelms’ colleagues in the video report from News 5.

On Wednesday, teachers wore purple in support of Nelms and the Lupus Alliance (which helps fund and support research for the autoimmune disease), but the funeral service was scheduled during the daytime and Nelms’ friends at the school wouldn’t have been able to attend. Then the police showed up.

“Officer (William) Dawson was in my room this morning while I was attending the funeral,” said Karen Benjamin, one teacher at the school. “The kids know him. When he walked in, they greeted him.”

News 5 reported around 15 police and firemen showed up at the school to watch over classes so teachers could attend the funeral.

“It’s certainly an honor to be in the class that she taught in and she was a great person, obviously loved by a lot of people and the students. She’s going to be greatly missed,” said Greenwood police chief Dawson.

Watch the full report below.