CMPD officer stunned by teen's kind gesture

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A couple of weeks ago, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Brad Potter was sitting in his patrol car when a teenager came up to him.

The teen asked, "Can I pray for you?"

Potter said he was stunned, as he was not expecting this question.

"To go up to a complete stranger and ask to pray for them, what an amazing act of pure kindness," he wrote.

Potter said that as weeks have gone by, he could not shake the impact of the boy's words.

Potter initially thought Caleb Turner, a sophomore at Northside Christian Academy, was approaching him at a gas station because he needed directions. But the 16-year-old's request caught him by surprise.

“We held hands and we prayed,” Turner said. “I prayed for him, for his safety and the safety of the other officers, and thanked them for what they do.”

Turner's father is very proud and hopes his son will inspire others.

“A new wave of compassion on all sides,” Victor Turner said. “Not just from the community to officers, but officers to the community as well.”

Caleb Turner remains humble, using the attention to encourage others.

“I wasn’t expecting any of this. I just did it, just (because).”

Early Thursday morning, Potter posted about the encounter on Facebook.

Cox Media Group