WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is pleased to feature the Little Rock Police Department as its “Community Policing in Action” photo contest winner for November. The winning photo shares an endearing moment between a Little Rock officer and young boy whose guardian was detained during a shoplifting call.

Officer Ronnie Morgan captured the moment that his partner, Officer Rebekah Tolleson, went above and beyond her normal duties to comfort the child, who was visibly upset. She held him and provided comforting words until a relative was able to pick him up.

To read more about the photo and the department, visit the COPS Office e-newsletter, the Community Policing Dispatch. The winning photo, taken by the department's photographer, Julie Prayter, is available to view on the COPS Office website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

The COPS Office piloted the photo contest in 2015 to highlight positive community policing efforts across the country. After receiving an overwhelming number of submissions, the COPS Office made the photo contest an annual event. The 2017 contest garnered close to 200 photos during the one-month submission period. To learn more about the “Community Policing in Action” Photo Contest, visit photocontest.

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 129,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance. For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.