PHOTO: Interaction between officer and teen with autism goes viral

CHARLOTTE, NC -- A social media post by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has gone viral after the photo shows an officer helping a student with autism.

According to the CMPD Facebook page, Officer Tim Purdy was dispatched to a situation involving a high school student with autism who may have been suicidal. The post has been shared over 15,000 times.

"In order to build a connection with the young man, Officer Purdy sat next to him on the ground, talked things through and even got him laughing," the Facebook post said.

With the trust and relationship built between Purdy and the student, CMPD says they were able to get the student the help he needed.

"There's more to policing than making arrests and enforcing the law. Sometimes taking those extra little steps makes the biggest difference in someone's life," the department added.