Former Sheriff Abston Makes Kid’s Day, Story Goes Viral

The story of an Algood boy and former Sheriff Jerry Abston has gone viral.

Last week, eight-year-old Adam Coffin and his mom Dawn stopped in at Algood’s Dollar General. The boy was wearing his police uniform and they were buying walkie-talkies, his version of a police radio. Abston was behind them in line. Dawn Coffin said Abston flagged them down in the parking lot and took his badge off his keychain and gave it to Adam.

“It just baffles me that he’s had that thing so long and he’s come across so many little kids and I don’t know, it just baffles me that Adam got it,” she said.

Dawn shared the story on her Facebook page and it’s gone viral. She said the story has appeared on news outlets from Tennessee to Oregon.

Dawn said Adam has wanted to be a police officer for more than a year. His uncle is a police officer in New York, but last year they had a brush with crime. Dawn said her father passed away and thieves broke into his house and stole his guns. Since then, Adam is determined to catch the bad guys.

Dawn said she has no doubt that Adam will grow up to be a police officer.

“Knowing the kind of kid Adam is, once he puts his mind to something, that’s it, I can totally see it,” Dawn said.

He’s even made a friend on the Algood Police Department, officer Brandon Bean.