PAX Centurion - Summer 2017

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • Summer 2017 • Page 51 Kolton Hessman – Honorary Boston Police Officer By Police Officer William Shaw & Police Officer James F. Lydon, Jr. On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, Kolton Hessman was posthumously given the honor of becoming an honorary Boston Police Officer in a ceremony at the Boston Police Academy. Kolton’s parents, Grant and Mimi Hessman, and his grandfather, disabled Vietnam veteran Richard Hessman, flew in from Knoxville, Tennessee, to receive this honor from Boston Police Commis- sioner William Evans. Kolton passed away on January 25, 2017, in Van- derbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, while awaiting a heart transplant. In December of 2016, Police Officer Kevin Welsh made us aware of Kolton’s plight. Kolton was a three year old young man with a severe case of congenital heart disease (CHD) and his only hope of survival was a heart transplant. Kevin worked tirelessly with Recruit Class #56-16 and Kolton’s family on an awareness program to locate a possible heart donor for Kolton. Kolton’s father, Grant, was a sheriff in Georgia for nine years. In August of 2013, Grant left his job and moved his family to Tennessee so Kolton could receive the medical treatment he needed at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Kolton loved police officers and expressed a strong desire to become a police officer when he grew up. Not only did Officer Kevin Welsh and the recruits (now police officers) from Class #56-16 work on the awareness campaign, but they sent Kolton a package of items from the BPD and the academy. Part of the curriculum at the academy is to encour- age community involvement and giving back. Class #56-16, led by its class president, Police Officer Anthony Twining, did an excellent job in this area. They participated in several events and charities during their twenty-seven weeks at the academy, but their involvement in Kolton’s condition was special. A team from Recruit Class #56-16 placed third in the 2017 Run to Remember, and was awarded $1,500.00 from the Boston Police Runners Club. Class #56-16 donated this money to the World of Broken Hearts in Kolton’s memory. This is a charity that is dedicated to research for children with congeni- tal heart disease. This connection with Kolton Hessman and his fam- ily was a great lesson for Recruit Class #56-16, and for all of us at the academy. On June 13, 2017, Kolton’s family travelled to Boston to thank Officer Welsh and Recruit Class #56-16 for their efforts on Kolton’s behalf. In return, the Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Patrol- man’s Association posthumously recognized Kolton’s strength, cour- age, and compassion. This is a lesson for us all.