How this young man became an officer for a day

After defeating cancer once before, 12-year-old Jackson Hall was diagnosed in March of this year with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, according to his mother, Jackie Hall.

At 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 28, Gastonia Police swore Hall in as a junior police officer, and so began his day on the job.

According to Jackie Hall, her son’s biggest dream in life is to play baseball for a living.

“We always ask him, ‘OK, what’s your fallback plan?’” she said.

Roughly two years ago, Jackson’s answer became law enforcement.

Jackson Hall’s family and friends reached out to the Gastonia Police Department to ask them to bring this dream to life.

After being sworn in on Monday, Jackson Hall worked a full day’s schedule with Gastonia officers.

He had an opportunity to patrol the streets of Gastonia and fulfill other basic duties, in addition to solving a staged crime from start to finish.

Earlier this year, another wish of Jackson’s was fulfilled by Dream on 3, an organization that works to make sports-related dreams come true for children and young adults with life-altering conditions.

The organization brought the Hall family to New York so Jackson could meet the New York Yankees.

According to Jackie Hall, Jackson does not have a favorite player or team, he just loves the game.

Though Yankee’s player Anthony Rizzo is special to Jackson as someone who beat cancer himself.

Jackson Hall’s diagnosis in March came as a shock to the family after a nearly seven-year period of being cancer-free.

Jackson Hall was diagnosed with his first tumor at four years old.

After undergoing rounds of treatment, and being diagnosed with Posterior Fascia Syndrome, Hall had officially beaten his cancer in 2016.

This year, the Hall family learned that Jackson had developed radiation-induced Glioma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer that was caused by the radiation treatments he underwent as a young child.

Jackson Hall has been fighting this new cancer with plenty of family and friends around him.

Hall is a seventh-grade student at Mountain Island Charter School.

In addition to sports, (namely baseball), and his interest in law enforcement, Jackson Hall is also a lover of sneakers.

His mother say the day on the job for her son was special.

“I just hope it’s a day that makes him smile,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: 12-year-old Jackson Hall patrols Gastonia streets for a day