WASHINGTON — Police officers may seem to be getting younger and younger these days.
But don’t worry, this one is not on the streets yet.
Micah Powers is 4 months old and the son of 10-year veteran Cpl. Michael Powers.
The Prince George’s County Police Department posted the baby’s photo on its Facebook page, along with dad’s.
Spokeswoman Officer Nicole Hubbard says the Facebook experienced a spike in followers once the photos went viral. It received more than 180,000 “Likes” on Facebook.
“When we came in this morning, we had a spike of over a thousand followers or Likes on Facebook,” Hubbard said.
She says heartwarming stories usually get a lot of attention online.
“We like to not only just post about crimes, but we also like to put a spotlight on positive things, like our officers. We want to showcase them in a different light — that they’re also fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters. It actually helps to humanize the police department.”
Hubbard says the more eyes that are on the department’s social media pages, the more eyes are on vital information that could save lives.
“When we post a particular story, like if someone who’s missing, you never know, it might help actually bring that person home. It actually helps us to engage our community and we can actually help educate them. We talk about things, like seatbelt safety and carseat check-ins.”
Hopefully, Micah made you smile.
WTOP’s Jamie Forzato contributed to this story. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on WTOP Facebook page.
