21-year-old military son Sgt. Giovanni Pando surprised his police officer mother during her swearing-in ceremony in Texas. Pando had been stationed overseas for the past two years. “All swearing-ins are special but every once in a while one tugs at your heartstrings a little more than others” wrote the Irving Police Department.
Chief Jeff Spivey handed Officer Erika Benning’s badge to her husband so he could pin it on her uniform, but then her son walked out from around the corner. Benning tried to hold back her tears but eventually started crying.
HEARTWARMING! Police officer bursts into tears when military son surprises her at swearing-in ceremony❤️🥺 https://t.co/m0VEHI1LnU pic.twitter.com/2T5MhCbUfK
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) February 9, 2020
“I said, ‘Don’t cry, don’t cry,’ and I don’t know what happened, and then it was just tears. I cried” Benning recalled. She added that it felt like a dream when her son showed up.
“I know the feeling she had for me when I graduated my school in the Army” Pando said.
Her son and husband kept the secret from her for over a week. “It was difficult. You know,” Benning’s husband, Corey, said. “Obviously, having a wife as a police officer doesn’t make it easier to keep a secret.”
