One police officer went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure a recently orphaned teen didn't have to miss out on his high school graduation.
Riley and Emily Portie were riding a motorcycle on May 24 when they were struck and killed by a drunk driver in Orange, Texas.
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Eric Ellison, an officer for the Orange Police Department, went to the couple's residence to inform their youngest son, Kazzie Portie, of the tragic news.
When Ellison learned that Portie's graduation was only days away, he knew he couldn't let the teenager walk across the stage without anyone waiting for him.
“I said, 'You are going to walk!'" Ellison told BuzzFeed News. "Your mom and dad will have front-row seats looking down from heaven, and I’ll stand in their place. I’ve got your back.”
Ellison attended Portie's graduation from Little Cypress–Mauriceville High School, and was waiting to hug him after receiving his diploma.
Portie received a standing ovation at his graduation ceremony when he crossed the stage. His older brother, Blake Henning, posted a picture of the huge round of applause on Facebook, which soon went viral.
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));This was such a special moment. Thank you class of 2015 for making this such a memorable occasion for our family. So proud of you @kazz418 I love you so much. Throughout all of this you have been so strong and we are so proud of you. Thank you for being such a great brother. I am so excited to see what the future holds for you. I know mom and bubba are so proud of you. Again, love you brother and thank you for being who you are.Kazzie PortiePosted by Blake Henning on Saturday, May 30, 2015
In the video, Henning describes how touched he was -- and how proud their parents would be.
"This was such a special moment. Thank you class of 2015 for making this such a memorable occasion for our family," he says. "Throughout all of this you have been so strong and we are so proud of you. Thank you for being such a great brother. I am so excited to see what the future holds for you. I know mom and bubba are so proud of you."