Texas boy afflicted with terminal brain cancer sworn in as honorary Waco Police officer

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel, a 10-year-old Texas boy who is battling terminal brain cancer and traveling across the country being sworn into law enforcement agencies, visited Waco on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 to be sworn in as an honorary officer with the Waco Police Department and other area law enforcement agencies.

Daniel was diagnosed with brain and spine cancer when he was only eight years old, has undergone at least ten brain surgeries, and has spent nearly half his life battling cancer.

His cross country trips are in honor of Abigail Arias, a Texas girl who died after battling cancer in 2019. The boy, who dreamed of one day becoming a law enforcement officer, is also raising awareness about children battling cancer during his meetings with law enforcement agencies and the public.

He is “a young man on a mission,” Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian said, “DJ, I want you to know that you are doing such important work and such inspirational work ... Thank you for being an example of strength, and resiliency, and commitment, and we are honored to be a stop on your journey.”

Daniel was sworn into several different agencies in Central Texas, and is now an honorary officer with 676 law enforcement agencies, Waco Police said.

Theodis Daniel, DJ’s father, thanked the law enforcement agencies for reaching out to DJ, revealing the boy was only given five months to live following the devastating diagnosis. Theodis credited DJ’s meetings with law enforcement as the reason his son has lived past the five months.

PHOTO GALLERY:

COPYRIGHT 2022. KWTX TV. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.