Black mom's Facebook post thanking white cop for helping son fix flat tire goes viral

May 20, 2015

When Virginia Tech student Joseph Owusu got a flat tire on a dark and busy road, a Virginia State Trooper rushed to the rescue, and his mother’s grateful Facebook post has since gone viral.

“Facebook friends, join me in expressing my gratitude to God and to Officer Matt Okes, a Virginia State Police officer. I took this picture at 2 a.m. in the middle of nowhere,” Dr. Nada Owusu posted on Facebook. “My son had his back tire blown off his car last night on his way home from school. This kind officer approached him, didn’t ask if the little Mercedes was stolen, but rather got on his knees to replace his tire.”

When they discovered that Owusu’s tires were stuck, the officer stayed behind and waited with the 20-year-old student, using his cruiser to light Owusu’s car so other drivers could see it.

“Even before we left home, I kept telling my son I need to thank this officer,” Dr. Owusu said. “Even when AAA came, [Trooper Okes] stayed.”

Since sharing this story, Owusu’s post has been shared over 16,000 times, and she says she is glad for the positive reaction.

“There’s a lot of good in this world and people want to hear positive stories,” Dr. Owusu said. “As far as I was concerned, there was a good person waiting with my son. I didn’t care if he was green, blue, yellow. There’s a lot of good in America and that needs to be heard. Police need our support.”