Ala. cop meets man who held umbrella over her as she saluted during procession for fallen LEO

Author: PoliceOne Members

By PoliceOne Staff

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Two strangers have reunited after being photographed during a mournful moment at Sgt. Wytasha Carter’s funeral service.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy Tiffany Dial was standing in the rail in front of the officer’s memorial as she saluted the procession on Saturday, ABC News reports.

As Dial saluted, a man walked up behind her with an umbrellca and covered her as she stood in the soaking rain for more than 30 minutes.

The two never exchanged words as they paid respects and when Dial finally turned around, the man walked away.

“I didn’t know he was there. My peripheral vision was cut off with my hat. … I was in my moment paying my respects to Sgt. Carter,” Dial told local news station WBMA-TV.

Dial and the man, identified as Shawn Allen, learned they had more in common in that moment, even working in the same building.

“It just restores your faith, a little bit,” Dial said. “It meant a lot in ways that you can’t even really put into words. It wasn’t just about keeping the rain off of me for that little bit. It meant a lot more than that.”

Allen said he didn’t speak to the deputy out of respect to her.

“People do care about us and it’s very uplifting. It can be very easy to get jaded in this job so it’s nice to see the good in people,” Dial said.