Mom finally meets the officer keeping her daughter's memorial clean for years, thanks to TikTok

Officer Stagg meeting Sherry Smith on WISH-TV.
Indianapolis Police Officer Jeff Stagg selflessly maintained the roadside memorial of Shelby Smith, who had been killed by a drunk driver. He picked up trash and placed little plastic flowers, figurines and rocks around it to keep it presentable. Though Shelby died nearly 22 years ago, Officer Stagg didn't want her to be forgotten. And now, his act of kindness won't be forgotten either.
Passerby Kaleb Hall (@kalebhall00 on TikTok) noticed the officer cleaning up the site and asked him what he was doing here. Kaleb had already thought the behavior a little uncharacteristic, "a cop cleaning up trash in the hood," so he went over to inquire.
After explaining that Shelby's memorial was in his patrol area and that he guessed her family had moved away, Officer Stagg told Kaleb, "no one's keeping it up anymore, so I just wanna make sure it stays kept up."
Stagg had noticed the memorial had become surrounded by overgrown grass, weeds and trash. After driving past it every day, Officer Stagg thought enough was enough.
@kalebhall00 👮🏻♀️Police officers reason for picking up trash is amazing!!! 🤯🙏🏻💯#CODAduets #fypシ #goodcop ‼️PLEASE SHARE ‼️
He would later tell CNN: "I believe strongly that this is part of the job. When we can try to do something to make things a little bit better as a result of a tragedy, that's what we do."
Kaleb posted a TikTok video of their interaction, which quickly racked up nearly 330,000 views and well-received comments like "I wish all cops had a heart like this," and "It's so nice to see officers doing things like this for our city. Indy needs more cops like him."
The video's popularity led to Shelby's mother, Sherry Smith, reaching out to meet in person. Say what you will about TikTok, it has a powerful way of bringing people together.
Sherry had in fact moved to Texas 12 years ago, and the pandemic made visiting the memorial difficult. On hearing the news of Officer Stagg's heartwarming act, Sherry knew she "had to meet him because he had to be a very special person, and he is," as she told CNN.
On Monday, Oct 18 Sherry and Officer Stagg did have their meeting, but not before Stagg had a new white wooden cross built for the memorial, with Shelby's name in bright pink letters. He also made sure to bring the officer who arrested the drunk driver who killed Shelby, who Sherry recognized instantly.
Sherry and Officer Stagg met at the memorial site, which had the freshly made wooden cross, surrounded by pink toy ponies and flowers. Sherry brought her own bouquet and a picture of Shelby. She immediately gave Officer Stagg a warm hug and big "thank you." On seeing the memorial—pristine, maintained and well loved—the mother got emotional, understandably.
Nowadays we don't often get news of police officers that make us feel much more than injustice. But every now and then there's a "good cop" story that reinstills our hope in humanity. Thank you, Officer Stagg, for your kindness and empathy. And for honoring those you protect and serve.
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Resurfaced video of French skier's groin incident has people giving the announcer a gold medal
"The boys took a beating on that one."
Downhill skiing is a sport rife with injuries, but not usually this kind.
A good commentator can make all the difference when watching sports, even when an event goes smoothly. But it's when something goes wrong that great announcers rise to the top. There's no better example of a great announcer in a surprise moment than when French skier Yannick Bertrand took a gate to the groin in a 2007 super-G race.
Competitive skiers fly down runs at incredible speeds, often exceeding 60 mph. Hitting something hard at that speed would definitely hurt, but hitting something hard with a particularly sensitive part of your body would be excruciating. So when Bertrand slammed right into a gate family-jewels-first, his high-pitched scream was unsurprising. What was surprising was the perfect commentary that immediately followed.
This is a clip you really just have to see and hear to fully appreciate:
- YouTube youtu.be
It's unclear who the announcer is, even after multiple Google inquiries, which is unfortunate because that gentleman deserves a medal. The commentary gets better with each repeated viewing, with highlights like:
"The gate the groin for Yannick Bertrand, and you could hear it. And if you're a man, you could feel it."
"Oh, the Frenchman. Oh-ho, monsieurrrrrr."
"The boys took a beating on that one."
"That guy needs a hug."
"Those are the moments that change your life if you're a man, I tell you what."
"When you crash through a gate, when you do it at high rate of speed, it's gonna hurt and it's going to leave a mark in most cases. And in this particular case, not the area where you want to leave a mark."
Imagine watching a man take a hit to the privates at 60 mph and having to make impromptu commentary straddling the line between professionalism and acknowledging the universal reality of what just happened. There are certain things you can't say on network television that you might feel compelled to say. There's a visceral element to this scenario that could easily be taken too far in the commentary, and the inherent humor element could be seen as insensitive and offensive if not handled just right.
The announcer nailed it. 10/10. No notes.
The clip frequently resurfaces during the Winter Olympic Games, though the incident didn't happen during an Olympic event. Yannick Bertrand was competing at the FIS World Cup super-G race in Kvitfjell, Norway in 2007, when the unfortunate accident occurred. Bertrand had competed at the Turin Olympics the year before, however, coming in 24th in the downhill and super-G events.
As painful as the gate to the groin clearly as, Bertrand did not appear to suffer any damage that kept him from the sport. In fact, he continued competing in international downhill and super-G races until 2014.
According to a 2018 study, Alpine skiing is a notoriously dangerous sport with a reported injury rate of 36.7 per 100 World Cup athletes per season. Of course, it's the knees and not the coin purse that are the most common casualty of ski racing, which we saw clearly in U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn's harrowing experiences at the 2026 Olympics. Vonn was competing with a torn ACL and ended up being helicoptered off of the mountain after an ugly crash that did additional damage to her legs, requiring multiple surgeries (though what caused the crash was reportedly unrelated to her ACL tear). Still, she says she has no regrets.
As Bertrand's return to the slopes shows, the risk of injury doesn't stop those who live for the thrill of victory, even when the agony of defeat hits them right in the rocks.