Dallas cop shows up as Superman, makes sick kid’s day

When a young boy needed a hero, a Dallas cop arrived at his doorstep — in a Superman costume.

Senior Corporal Damon Cole with the Dallas PD recently came across a Facebook page about Bryce Schottel, a 7-year-old boy in Smithton, Illinois, with lymphoma.

The Facebook post asked supporters to submit photos of themselves wearing a Superman-inspired “Team Bryce” logo to help lift the young boy’s spirits during his cancer treatments.

Cole wanted to go one step further. He decided Bryce needed a visit from a superhero. So he drove the 11 hours in his Superman-wrapped 2012 Dodge Charger to Bryce’s house — paid for out of his own pocket — and surprised the boy by showing up dressed as Superman.

“I’m a part of a group called Heroes, Cops and Kids. It’s me and four other Dallas police officers,” Cole told CNN. “We dress up as superheroes and we go to schools, churches, hospitals, and just interact with the community and kids.”

His visit with Bryce was his first home visit with a sick child.

Cole told the Dallas Morning News that Bryce kept repeating “wow,” after opening the front door to find the Man of Steel waiting to meet him.

“Bryce’s reaction was priceless. He was smiling ear-to-ear. That was the best feeling ever,” Cole said.

Cole gifted the young boy with a Superman action figure, his own Superman cape, and offered him a ride in his Superman-themed car.

“I told him, ‘I don’t do this for everybody, but you’re the superhero, not me,’ and I gave him one of my capes,” Cole told ABC News.

He then surprised Bryce again by changing into an Iron Man costume:

“I said, ‘You got to make me a promise that you won’t tell anybody, but I’m also Iron Man.’ His face just lit up.”

Before Cole left Bryce’s hometown, he visited Bryce’s school, still dressed as Iron Man.

“People talk about doing stuff all the time, but he came and he was here and already did more than he said he was going to do,” Regina Carlton, Bryce’s mother, told the Dallas Morning News.

Cole’s visit made headlines — and even got the attention of Stan Lee. Despite his hero attire, the humble officer insisted, “It’s the least I could do.”

“You know I’m not rich. I’m not famous. I’m really a nobody. Just another police officer,” Cole said.“That’s my little way of contributing to do something for people ’cause I would want someone to do it for my family or daughter if they were in Bryce’s shoes.”

Cole hopes to visit other children like Bryce in the future.

“You don’t see it every day — people like Damon who will take time away from their family to help a sick kid,” Bryce’s father, Brian Schottel, said. “Even if it’s just to hear that ‘wow.’ If the world had more people like that, we might be in a better place.”

A local Illinois police department was so moved by Cole’s gesture that it plans to start its own Heroes, Cops and Kids group.