The Cincinnati Police Department was recently dispatched to a call for a toddler that was reportedly wandering outside, alone in a neighborhood.
According to a Facebook post by CPD, when responding officers arrived in the area and found the young boy, he was safe and with Johnathon Russ who had given him a shirt to wear and a snack.
Russ was given the “Standout Citizen Award” on Thursday for his good deed.
Russ recalled seeing the toddler in the neighborhood before and went to the house that he thought was his. The door was ajar, but his mother and father were not home, according to CPD.
“Johnathon told our officers that the young boy’s situation of being left alone brought flashbacks of his childhood, and he couldn’t help but want to care for the child,” the police said.
Officers noted that throughout the process of trying to locate the family, Russ continued to ask how he could help.
“To be able to do something for somebody that was in need, I would hope that if I was ever in a situation like that, somebody would do something like that for me,” Russ told WLWT News. “So, I’m just thankful that God put me in a position to be a blessing for somebody else.”
Additionally, Russ was the first citizen to receive the honorary award.
“That got us thinking, we need a way to thank our citizens for going above and beyond! And this is how the ‘Standout Citizen Award’ came to be. We could not have had a better inaugural recipient. We can’t thank Johnathon enough for inspiring this award. The Cincinnati Police Department can’t wait to give out many more.”
The Cincinnati Reds also honored Russ with free tickets to upcoming Reds games.
Watch the video of Russ receiving the award here.
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