SUFFOLK, Va. - One recent hot Sunday afternoon, Officer Grayson Craun of the Suffolk Police Department was on patrol and saw some kids playing outside.
"The children out there didn’t have anything to play with so he gave them something,” says Craun's commanding officer, Major Gerald Brandsasse.
Officer Craun bought them toys and stayed for a while to play with them. Someone snapped pictures and posted them on the department's Facebook page.
“It's just one example of the many times Officer Craun has gone out to the community and attempted to make an impact,” says Mjr. Brandsasse.
“You can see with his conversation with them in his eyes and in his actions that he really cares about the people of this community," says Sergeant Eric Crawley.
And if you know Officer Craun, you know he doesn’t do these things because he wants attention, in fact his fellow officers tell me he shies away from the spotlight but today he couldn’t avoid it.
"Hello Officer Craun, I’m Beverly with Channel 3.” With a camera pointed at him and the microphone in front of him, you could tell he was truly surprised. "We would like to give you a People Taking Action Award for all that you do as a police officer.”
His fellow officers began clapping and giving him a hard time, in a joking way of course.
The two year veteran was humble and very appreciative. "This is very unexpected. Thank you."
We also gave Officer Craun a $300 gift certificate from our community partners, Southern Bank.
While these accolades are great, this Suffolk native tells me he’s only doing his job, a job he loves.
“Since grade school I’ve wanted to be a police officer,” he says. “We’ve got great people in Suffolk, we’ve got great kids and a great police dept.”
Speaking of great kids, Officer Craun’s three showed up to surprise him too along with his wife Heather.
His son Nathan was the most talkative and obviously very proud of his dad. “He’s very funny he makes me laugh every day.”
And while little Nathan has a bit of his dad’s shyness, one thing’s clear, the love and caring Officer Craun gives, he gets back from his family, his department and his community.
When it was time to get to work, the family reluctantly said their goodbyes. Nathan hung on for a long hug and several kisses on the cheek. . “Bye dad… (kiss kiss)… be careful." (blows kiss)
