Carolyn B. R. Hammett and her husband were driving near their home in Greenbelt, Maryland on a recent rainy day when they noticed something unusual in the distance.

They were stunned to see a police officer standing right in the middle of the road in the rain. Though she was drenched, she appeared to have a huge smile on her face. At first, Carolyn thought the road might be flooded and that the officer was on patrol, but this was not the case at all.

“As we got closer, we realized that she was standing over something," Carolyn recalled.

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It was only when they got close to her that Carolyn and her husband realized the officer was standing over a sleeping turtle taking a nap in the middle of the street!

“I couldn’t believe that she was standing there guarding that turtle in all that rain," Carolyn said. "Not many people would do that, regardless of their occupation. She was serving and protecting in every sense of the word.”

Carolyn's husband pulled over and walked over to the officer to stand with her with an umbrella so she could stay dry.

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The officer had been on her way home from a ceremony when someone called her about the turtle. Since snapping turtles can be dangerous to handle, the officer decided to stand guard until animal rescue showed up.

As her husband stood with the officer, Carolyn rushed home to grab two shovels which she and her husband used to lift the turtle safely off the road.

“The officer thanked us and we thanked her and we all went on our way," Carolyn said. "She was smiling a big broad smile the entire time and she never seemed to care that she was drenched completely through. She was delightful, inspirational, kind, all the things that you think a police officer should be.”

The officer, Sharnise Hawkins-Graham, is well known for going above and beyond to protect her community. She certainly did just that on this day!

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