This Cop, Who Had To Tell This Boy His Parents Were Dead, Shows Up To His Graduation

#1 On May 24, an Orange, Texas, couple named Riley and Emily Portie were riding their motorcycle when they were struck by a drunk driver. The parents of five died at the scene.

#2 Officer Eric Ellison of the Orange Police Department responded to the scene of the crash, and was tasked with breaking the news to the couple’s next of kin. When he arrived at the house, he found their youngest son, Kazzie, home alone.

#3 Ellison said the accident and the family stayed with him, especially since his own 18-year-old daughter graduated on Friday.

#4 The veteran police officer kept his promise, and came to the ceremony on Saturday. “I had to be the bearer of bad news for him, and I felt that was just the right thing to do,” Ellison said.

#5 When Kazzie accepted his diploma, Ellison was waiting for him at the end of the stage.

#6 The entire auditorium then gave Kazzie a standing ovation.

#7 “If you didn’t cry then you don’t have a heart,” Scales said. “I was bawling my eyes out.”

#8 Ellison posted on his Facebook that moments like this are what life is all about.

#9 After the story began to spread, Ellison posted that he was grateful for the support, but that the focus should be on Kazzie.

#10 Many of Kazzie’s classmates also tweeted their support for him.

#11 Kazzie said that even though his parents were not at the ceremony, he knows they are proud of him.

"My parents talked in the last month how proud they were of me for graduating, and not just for graduating, but how proud of me they were for the man I have become," he said. "And knowing all of this, truly warms my heart with joy."