Latter-day Saint Life

Instead of Arresting Him, Officer Prays with Grieving Man & Drives Him 100 Miles to Be with Family

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Just last weekend, an officer from Ohio demonstrated what it means to share his faith and  "mourn with those that mourn." In the midst of hostility and negative news coverage involving police officers, this simple story demonstrates the impact we can have when we instead choose to follow the Savior's example.

Mark Ross had just learned his 15-year-old youngest sister had died in a car wreck. It was 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning, but Ross knew he had to get to Detroit to be with his mother. He was hundreds of miles away in Indiana.

In the middle of the night, Ross managed to convince one of his friends—a man with a suspended driver's license—to drive him to Detroit. 

"I haven't slept and instantly got on the road," Ross wrote of the experience on Facebook. "Of course we were speeding, trying to get back to Detroit. And we got pulled over in Ohio."

 "I knew I was going to jail due to a petty warrant," Ross continued. The situation didn't look good. A driver with a suspended driver's license, a passenger with an outstanding misdemeanor warrant, a towed car, and over 100 miles still separating Ross from his family. In addition, the police in Ross's county refused to come and pick him up because of the distance.

He was stranded. That's when Ross began telling Sgt. David Robison about his sister.

"I explained to the officer that my sister had died and that I needed to get to my mother ASAP,"
 Ross shares. "I broke down crying and he saw the sincerity in my cry."

That's when the officer did something unexpected:

"He reaches over and began praying over me and my family," Ross continues.

"It was so overwhelming it kind of took me away from my own reality," he told InsideEdition.com.

Not only that but Sgt. Robinson drove Ross over 100 miles to meet up with his family and told Ross he would attend his sister's funeral.

About this episode, Ross stated simply, "He gave me hope."

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