By Suzie Ziegler
CHANDLER, Ariz. — The first day of kindergarten is special for every family, but for one little girl in Arizona it was particularly momentous.
Julianna Kinnard, 7, was not alone when she arrived at school on Monday. Instead, she was escorted by deputies from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, where her late father had worked as a detention officer.
According to AZFamily.com, Joshua Kinnard was killed in 2018 when he came at police with a weapon. Kinnard was a Marine veteran and had been suffering an episode of PTSD at the time, his family said.
Since that day, many law enforcement officers have offered their support, said Julianna’s mother, Maggie Jones.
“When Josh passed away, a lot of the officers were like, ‘We will be there for her milestones,’ and this is one of the biggest ones for her, is the start of her education,” Jones told FOX 10.
The sheriff’s office shared photos of Julianna’s send off, which included a police escort and a bouquet of yellow roses.
“It is so humbling to know that even through a tragedy, so many people rally together,” said Jones to ABC 15.
This morning, our MCSO Detention Staff was honored to make Julianna Kinnard’s first day of kindergarten extra special by escorting her to school. Her father, Joshua Kinnard was a Detention Officer with the Maricopa County Sheriff‘s office... pic.twitter.com/Ff5VzgkKHR
— Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (@mcsoaz) July 21, 2021