By Brett Gillin
Over the last few months, there have been tens of thousands of voices shouting their opinions on the police in this country. Many of these voices come in the form of protestors, holding signs and angrily shouting about their ideas for change. Some come from media pundits or civil rights leaders. It’s hard to blame police officers from simply tuning all this extra noise out so they can get back to serving and protecting their communities. But there’s one voice in Texas that is making every police officer she encounters stop and take notice. And it’s coming from a 10-year-old girl.
When two New York Police Department officers were gunned down back in December, 10-year-old Savannah Solis was literally in tears. According to this article on KXAN.com, the deaths of those officers inspired Savannah to take action. She was determined to show police officers that their hard work and dedication was not going by unnoticed or unappreciated. So Savannah decided to write hundreds of thank you cards to police officers in New York, as well as her home state of Texas.
“You are my heroes. I want to say: Don’t stop. Please don’t give up,” Savannah’s letters read. “Many do not care or appreciate the sacrifices you make every day, but I do. Many are standing with me today to let you know that you matter. Officers across Texas, you matter to me. Officers in New York City, you matter to me. Officers all across America, you matter to me. Please keep taking care of us.”
Savannah wanted to hand deliver as many of these letters as possible, so her mother decided to help her out. The two went to a local Austin police department to give these letters to the officers, and to let Savannah ask for something in return: Their autographs.
“She wants to get as many autographs as possible because they are her heroes. She doesn’t look at celebrities like that, she does law enforcement. She adores them,” Debbie Solis, Savannah’s mother, told reporters.
Austin Police Department Assistant Chief Jessica Robledo told reporters that the police apprecided Savannah at least as much as she appreciated them. “I was so proud. The words she spoke from her heart touched every single officer. I noticed everyone was trying to blink back tears. That’s what it’s all about. She is an old soul. She knows the right thing to say, and I don’t think she even realizes the impact of her words to these officers and this department.”
