Anthony Bussell

On Sundays I like to praise to individuals who go above and beyond what would ordinarily be expected. Deputy Anthony Bussell is such an individual..

In the United States, if you apply for any law enforcement job, there’s always a question,” Deputy Bussell told us, adding what that is, “Why do you want to be a police officer?”

“It’s kind of cliché, but it’s to help the community,” he said.

From Epoch Bright:

Deputy Anthony Bussell isn’t used to seeing the young male motorists he pulls over on the roadside break down in tears.

Upon seeing exactly this at 3:30 a.m. during a traffic stop south of Kansas City last month, he was more than ready to lend a shoulder to cry on.

Through tears, a young man wearing a white ball cap in the car driver’s seat asked, “Can I have a hug?”

The request for a hug was granted by the man in uniform, who has served in law enforcement for 23 years. His unhesitant reply to the young man’s asking for a hug was, “Sure, yeah.”

So the deputy gave him one.

Everybody’s got hard times, no matter who you are, Deputy Bussell said. The officer tried to make someone’s worst day his best.

The traffic stop was on a country road, on 199 Street, just off Homestead Lane in Johnson County. The young male driver allegedly had been doing 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone.

Did he still get a ticket in the end? You bet. “Actions have consequences,” Deputy Bussell said. “The rural area that in Johnson County that we’re at is a two-lane road.

“There could have been a deer, there could have been another car with a family that you could have hit.”

So here Officer Anthony Bussell helped the community in two different ways. He did his duty by patrolling 119 Street and ticketing a speeding motorist. He also went out of his way by showing empathy to the distressed crying young man by giving him the wanted hug.

9/17/23