We all know a police officer's job is to serve and protect, but there are some members of the force who go above and beyond the call of duty.
While not every officer will get recognition for their good deeds, one woman has been commended for her act of kindness.
Celeste Ayala was on duty at the Sor Maria Ludovica children's hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina when a wailing boy baby was brought in.
"It was a sad moment, it broke my soul seeing him like this."
Although medical staff called him "smelly and dirty," Ayala found the fact irrelevant and knew why the infant was desperately crying - he was just hungry.
Her mother's instinct prevailed and after she fed the baby, he had settled down.
"I noticed that he was hungry, as he was putting his hand into his mouth, so I asked to hug him and breastfeed him," Ayala said in an interview with Cronica.
"It was a sad moment, it broke my soul seeing him like this. Society should be sensitive to the issues affecting children; it cannot keep happening."
Her colleague Marcos Heredia took a snap of the touching moment and posted it on Facebook, where it quickly went viral.
"That's the type of police we're proud of, the police we want."
The post, which had more than 68,000 likes, 94,000 shares and nearly 300 comments, caught the attention of Buenos Aires provincial security minister Cristian Ritondo.
On August 17 he announced the mother-of-three had been promoted from officer to sergeant.
"We wanted to thank you in person for that gesture of spontaneous love that managed to calm the baby's cry," Ritondo wrote on Twitter. "That's the type of police we're proud of, the police we want."
According to the local media, the infant was the youngest of six children, who's mother was in "dire straits."
"I want to make public this great gesture of love you made today for this little baby who you did not know, but for who you did not hesitate to act like a mother," Heredia wrote on Facebook.
"You did not care if he was dirty, which is what the hospital staff called him. Good job mate."
"Actions like these fill us with pride."
While Ayala juggles being a mother-of-three and working in the police force, she also finds time volunteering with her local fire brigade, who paid tribute to her on social media.
"We want to congratulate the voluntary firefighting cadet Celeste Ayala who yesterday in her job as police officer whilst she was on guard duty at the hospital, breastfed a young child who arrived crying," the post read.
"Actions like these fill us with pride and obligate us to redouble the effort, the work and the solidarity with our community."
Do you think Ayala should have been given the promotion? Let us know in the comments!
[H/T: Daily Mail]
