DETROIT – Detroit police Officer Darren Weathers was killed Tuesday in a crash during a training exercise, but before his death, he had a major impact on the community.
He will be remembered for a viral video that showed him pulling over in Detroit to get out of his squad car and play basketball with some children in the street.
READ: Speed a factor in crash that killed Officer Darren Weathers
Now, one of the children from the video is sharing stories from his short time with Weathers.
"He said, 'Do you guys want to play basketball?'" Antoine Ball, 10, said.
It was a simple question last summer that still sticks with Antoine.
Weathers saw the children playing on Detroit's west side. To choose teams, he had the children to push-ups. Then he had a race, and the children were happy that the officer took an interest in them.
"I remember we all had fun and played basketball," Antoine said.
Last summer, Weathers told Local 4 that when he was a child, he thought police officers on the street meant someone was in big trouble. His goal was to make the children feel like a big brother to look up to was coming to play with them.
On Tuesday, Antoine's mother had to tell him that his friend wouldn't be coming around anymore. But Antoine said Weathers would tell him to be strong and remember that day.
Tune in as Detroit police Chief James Craig will be live in the Local 4 studios at 6:30 a.m. Thursday.
You can watch Shawn Ley's interview with Antoine in the video posted above.