LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville Metro Police officer and a woman embraced while surrounded by protests in Downtown Louisville on Sunday.
It's a shared moment between LMPD Officer Paris and Tonya Trumbo. We don't know Officer Paris' first name, yet, but we will.
“I thought he was becoming me over to actually ask me a question. I never expected, you know, with everything that’s going on, I never expected for him to reach out and embrace me,” Trumbo said.
That embrace that nearly lasted a minute in the middle of the street in the heart of Louisville by Jefferson and 6th street.
“It was surreal because I was feeling so emotional,” Trumbo said.
The Louisville teacher said she doesn't know the officer. But she’s deeply grateful to Officer Paris for extending the hug.
Moments before the hug, Trumbo spoke to several officers lined up and urged them to put the batons down instead of being on guard. Several officers heard her plea.
“All I know is from that moment I had some peace and I felt secure at both ends. You know it was a small sense of serenity at that moment and it was almost like I felt him surrender as well,” Trumbo said about the hug.
Trumbo said she wanted to set an example of how protests can be peaceful, which resulted in not only starting a dialogue but also an emotional hug.
The teacher said she took part in Friday’s protests and Sunday evening but walked away with peace in the latter evening.