Local child honored by police for act of bravery

March 23, 2016

DYERSBURG, Tenn. — A West Tennessean is honored after facing his fears and doing what was right to help his police department solve a crime. But we should mention, this hero is only 7-years-old.

Now that police department is hoping a child’s action will inspire his entire community.

Shamino Lanire may look like your typical 7 year-old, but Dyersburg Police said he is much more than that.

“For a 7-year-old to take it upon himself, take that initiative, he’s an example for everyone,” Patrolman David Dodds with the Dyersburg Police Dept. said.

Shamino crossed paths with officers at a recent crime scene when they said he did something they never expected.

“This little guy sought us out,” Dodds said. “He wasn’t even close to where we were and then sought us out to come tell us that he saw something.”

It was a simple act officers knew they needed to recognize.

“It just touched me,” Dodds said. “We needed to get together and do something to make him understand how proud we were of him.”

The department took up a collection and not soon after raised enough money to buy Shamino and his family a new basketball goal.

“This situation can change him for the rest of his life. He may never want to do anything wrong,” Shamino’s mother Jessie Burlingame said.

Especially in a time where there seems to be a disconnect between children and police.

“We’ll go in a store and parents will tell their kids, ‘you better behave because the police are going to get you’,” Patrolman Robert Beard said. “So from a young age they’re taught police are bad.”

At first, even Shamino’s mom was leary of what he did.

“No, don’t let him talk to the police, that was my instinct,” Burlingame said. “But after I thought about it and knew he already talked to them about what had happened I was actually proud of him.”

Now officers hope the actions of this brave 7 year-old will serve as an example for others.

“That little boy felt comfortable around us to come and talk to us,” Beard said. “So that’s the message we want to send that we’re here for the community.”