Human Interest Police Officer Battling Cancer Leaves Hospital to Take Son Who Has Autism to First Day of School Andy Matteline was joined by his fellow officers to guide his son, Carmine, to his first day of class By Jason Hahn Jason Hahn Jason Hahn is a former Human Interest and Sports Reporter for PEOPLE. He started at PEOPLE's Los Angeles Bureau as a writer and reporter in 2017 and interviewed the likes of Kobe Bryant, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Brady. He has a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University. He previously worked for Complex Magazine in New York City. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 14, 2019 03:16PM EDT Photo: City of Woodson Terrace Police Department/ Facebook A young boy with autism was treated to a heartwarming first day of school when more than 20 police officers — including his father, who temporarily left the hospital where he is getting treatment for cancer — gathered to walk him to school. The band of police officers helped escort 5-year-old Carmine Matteline, of Chesterfield, Missouri, this week after his father, Andy Matteline, had been hospitalized with esophageal and stomach cancer, according to KTVI. “We’re friends but we’re family also,” officer Chris Kaatmann told the news station. “We want to do whatever we can to again make this day special for him and his family.” But just as Carmine was getting ready to make the trek from his home to his kindergarten class with the officers, his father surprised everyone by appearing with two nurses and his brother-in-law, who’s a physician, after he received permission to leave the hospital for a few hours, KTVI reported. He had no idea that his fellow officers were already there. “Get the joy, you can’t buy that, get the happiness; this is awesome,” Andy told the group. “Thank you, guys, so much. It’s amazing to see that support.” Person Accidentally Texts Missouri Police Officer About Getting High and the Cop’s Response Is Epic! In all, representatives from nine separate departments — including officers with the St. John, Bel-Bor, Breckenridge Hills, Chesterfield, Maryland Heights, Warson Woods, Normandy, Webster Groves and St. Louis County police departments, plus deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office — all showed up for the special moment. “It’s pretty amazing. It’s so touching to see everyone here and everyone that hears about Andy wants to be there for Carmine,” Mary Matteline, Carmine’s mother, told KTVI. City of Woodson Terrace Police Department/ Facebook Minnesota Police Officer Responding to a Welfare Check Winds Up Mowing Elderly Woman’s Lawn Because Carmine has autism, the parents said they spent considerable time preparing him to interact with other children before the big day — one of the key reasons Andy wanted to see him off. “This is one of the biggest days and I didn’t want to miss this,” Andy said. “He means the world to me. We’ve been through a lot together.”