Life Imitates Art In Boy's Chat With Freehold Borough Police Officer

FREEHOLD, NJ — When a boy stopped to say hello to a Freehold police officer having breakfast at a local diner, the resulting photo bore an amazing likeness to a famous painting by artist Norman Rockwell.

That prompted a post on the Freehold Borough Police Department Facebook site - and lots of likes and shares.

"Officer Kevin Werner was having a great conversation with a nice young man at Roberto's in town," said Freehold Police Capt. Ronnie Steppat.

"Officer Werner was eating when the young man and his grandmother came in. The child came right up to Officer Werner, talking to him about being a cop. And the young man told Kevin that he was dressing up as a cop for Halloween," Steppat said.

Werner invited the boy - whose name is Elijah and who is 10 - to join him at the counter and the child's grandmother sat in the booth behind them and took the picture, Steppat explained.

On the department's Facebook site, you can see this photo side-by-side with part of the Rockwell image. That painting was used as a famous cover of the then-Saturday Evening Post magazine.

Steppat posted both images, making the connection to the Norman Rockwell original.

And some of the posted comments are as touching as the picture:

"That’s what I call serving and protecting. This is a great representation of our community," said one person.

Elijah's mother, Julie, thanked the officer:

"I love this picture ! Thank you for having lunch with my son and letting him talk your ear off, I'm sure! I know it made his day!" she posted, adding that she gave kudos to her mom for the great photo.

Another said he met the officer depicted in the original Rockwell illustration.

"I once met the policeman that posed for the original painting by Norman Rockwell. He was head of security at GE in Schenectady at the time of our meeting," said the contributor.

The story of the police officer and the boy in the Norman Rockwell painting is described on the Rockwell Museum website.

The name of the 1958 painting is The Runaway, and in the full painting the little boy has a knapsack at his feet, seemingly relieved to unburden his cares to the officer.

Richard Clemens, a neighbor of the artist, had been a Massachusetts State Trooper and posed as the police officer for The Runaway and for a 1961 Christmas card for the Massachusetts State Police, according to the museum, which is in Stockbridge, Mass. You can visit the full museum website here.

"The Runaway endures as one of Norman Rockwell’s most admired paintings. The painting has also resonated with police and military personnel around the world," the museum website says.

In fact, in 2008, Clemens and the model for the boy in the painting were honored by the Massachusetts State Police during a special ceremony in Framingham. Mass., to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sept. 28, 1958 cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post.

But back in Freehold, the police officer and the boy expect to have another, sooner reunion, said Steppat.

"Kevin is actually gonna try to meet up with him again on Halloween," Steppat said. The boy is planning to dress up as a policeman for Halloween, as noted earlier.

And as Steppat said in his post: "It was real life imitating art. Thank you, Norman Rockwell!"