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'Restored my faith' | Metro officer goes beyond call of duty to help calm boy with autism on train ride home

The officer not only watched Andrew's videos and posed for Instagram filters, but he also held Andrew's hand and rode the entire train ride home with him.

WASHINGTON — A D.C. area mom took to Facebook to thank a Metro Transit Police Officer who "went completely out of his way" to help her son, Andrew. 

In a Facebook post that's gone viral, Taylor Pomilla explained that her son has autism and on Friday, on their way home, Andrew started having what she called a meltdown/breakdown. 

"For those of you that don’t know, when you have a child with autism, your child will have some good days and then they will have some bad ones," she wrote in the post. "Today was one of those bad days." 

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During this time, Andrew was kicking, hitting and pulling his mom's hair during the rush hour Metro commute. Pomilla explained how nothing she did would help calm her son. 

"He started rolling on the floor, screaming, his shoe fell off and he flung it across the train, all while I’m on the floor trying to calm him down (in a dress) with all the candy I had," she wrote. 

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In her attempts to help calm him down, Pomilla got off the train at Gallery Place, one stop before they needed to get off to change trains. 

I wanted to take a few minutes to share something incredible that happened today. This afternoon I picked up Andrew from school/ABA and we got on the metro headed home. We ride the metro everyday to...

Once off the train, Pomilla explained how Andrew wouldn't get back on the train to continue their commute home. She said by this time, she was crying out of frustration and sadness for her son because she felt he was being judged by onlookers. 

"Sometimes Andrew's emotions just become too much for him to mentally work through, but when people start staring and Andrew notices, he takes this as opportunity to put on a show," she wrote.

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At this point, a Metro officer approached Pomilla and her son. She explained to him the situation. Noticing how Andrew stopped once he approached them, the officer asked where their final destination was and told Pomilla he would escort them on the train. 

While walking to the train, Pomilla explained how the officer gave Andrew a Velcro police badge and asked the boy if he could help him do police work on the train.

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She said the officer not only acted interested in Andrew's "silly" videos and posed for Instagram filters, but he also held Andrew's hand and rode the entire 30-minute train ride home with her son.  

"This officer COMPLETELY went out of his way to help Andrew. He honestly restored my faith that there are good people still left in the world," she wrote.

Pomilla didn't get a chance to get the officer's name, but she'd like to thank him for his incredible act of kindness. 

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