On a Hot Arizona Night, One Cop Changed a Teen’s Life Forever
It was a scorching evening in September 2014 when 16-year-old Anthony Schultz jogged through the streets of Peoria, Arizona. Alone and deep in thought, he had no idea a police officer was watching him.
Officer Brandon Sheffert sat in his patrol car, something about the boy tugging at his instincts. Why was he out alone, running with such intensity? Brandon couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
When he approached Anthony, the teen was guarded and distant. No matter how hard Brandon tried to connect, Anthony refused to open up.
“Something about it bugged me,” Brandon later admitted. “I could tell there was pain he wasn’t sharing.”
Brandon went home to his wife and two young kids, but Anthony’s troubled face lingered in his mind. Determined to uncover the truth, he visited Anthony’s apartment complex. What he found shocked him: Anthony lived in a cramped one-bedroom apartment with seven family members.
Brandon didn’t stop there. He kept visiting, trying to build trust and understand Anthony’s situation. Slowly, they formed a connection. But one night, Brandon received a call that would change everything.
Anthony’s mother, overwhelmed and desperate, told Brandon, “You need to take him. I can’t do this anymore.”
Brandon was stunned. “I thought, ‘Whoa, this doesn’t make sense.’”
With nowhere else to go, Anthony moved in with Brandon and his family—for what was supposed to be just a week. But that week turned into months, and then years.
By the time Anthony turned 18, his mother’s situation hadn’t improved, and he still had no home. So, Brandon and his wife made a decision that would transform Anthony’s life forever. They took him in as their own son.
“For the first time, he had stability, love, and a real home,” Brandon shared. “Even our kids call him their big brother, and they love it.”
Under the care of his new family, Anthony began to thrive. He no longer worried about his next meal. He got his first job, learned to drive, and even had a room of his own.
And this month, Anthony will achieve something no one in his family has done in over 30 years—he’ll graduate from high school.
“If Brandon hadn’t been there that night, I don’t know where I’d be,” Anthony said. “Maybe jail, maybe worse. I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
Now, Anthony has big dreams. He plans to join the Army, confident in the future that once seemed so far out of reach.
“I feel like nothing can stop me now,” he said, smiling.
This is a story of compassion, second chances, and the difference one person can make.
Share this incredible journey with your friends and family—you never know whose life it might inspire!
