8-year-old boy asks neighborhood police captain to be his godfather

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. — An 8-year-old South Carolina boy and the police captain of the city he lives in have forged a special relationship and can now call each other family.

Kanesha Leach-Petelo moved to Goose Creek, South Carolina, about a year ago with her husband and son. She told WCBD her husband travels out of town for work a lot, and she wanted her son, who lives with autism, to be familiar with area police in case there was ever an emergency.

Her son, AJ Petelo, was elated when he found out his mother arranged for him to tour the police department.

“We gave him the tour of the police department, rolled his fingerprints, showed him around,” Capt. Tom Hill with the Goose Creek Police Department told WCBD. “We had a good time.”

Hill said after the tour, AJ started writing him letters, and the two became pen pals.

In one of AJ’s most recent letters, he wrote Hill a heartfelt note:

“Dear Captain Hill, how are you? I wanted to ask you if you would be my godfather. A godfather is a dad who will be there if my dad can’t and I want that to be you.”

Hill said he was extremely touched.

“I think the family unit is an extremely important thing to me,” he told WCBD. “I told him that I would be honored to be his godfather. I met up with him at a park, I provided him with a letter and I have him a little gift.”

Hill said AJ’s wish gave him a glimmer of hope.

“It really helped me tremendously," he said. "You know, we can reach these individuals one person at a time.”

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