We’re not going to lie, this story brought tears to our eyes so you might want to make sure you have a few tissues on standby. It’s stories like this that just help to remind us that the world really is full of some amazing people.

The Huffington Post reports that Officer Daryl Raetz from the Phoenix Police Department was killed in the line of duty early last Sunday morning. Officer Raetz left behind a wife and a daughter called Tatum, who was due to graduate from kindergarten (playschool) three days later.

Understandably, the little girl was upset that her dad couldn’t attend her graduation. However, in a stunning act of compassion, hundreds of police officers arrived at Tatum’s school to support her and pay tribute to her dad.

“She had 300, 400 parents up here for her this morning,” said Officer James Holmes, speaking about the turn-out for Tatum’s graduation.

“It was absolutely amazing. IT was bittersweet and it was a bit overwhelming for all of us,” he added.

So many police officers attended the event that there weren’t enough seats for them all, so they had to stand at the back of the school’s sports hall.

“We tried to keep this to Daryl’s squad and his precint,” wrote the Phoenix Police Department on their Facebook page.

“But [once] the word got out that this was happening, there was absolutely no way that you could keep officiers who could be here away from here,” the department added.

“We’ll support his family forever, and this is just the first step,” said Detective Sara Garza, a close friend of Officer Raetz’s family.

“I wish he were here to see [Tatum graduate], but I hope we do him proud,” she added.

The Phoenix Police Department tweeted the following picture after Tatum’s graduation and we think it sums up the tone of this story perfectly:

A truly amazing act for a little girl and a mother grieving the loss of a father and a husband.