Lawrence Police Officer, Stranger Reflect: 'I Guess It's Not Easy Being Either Of Us Right Now'

LAWRENCE (CBS) -- A Massachusetts woman says she shared a "moment of clarity" with a police officer she never met before.

Natasha Howell posted about her interaction with the officer on Facebook and it has gone viral.

Howell said she was at a convenience store buying a protein bar when she noticed two white police officers talking to the clerk behind the counter about the latest police-involved shootings across the nation. When Howell, a black woman, approached the counter she said the officers looked at her and fell silent.

One of the officers then asked her how she was doing.

"Okay, and you?" she responded.

"How are you really doing?" he said.

"I'm tired!" she said.

"His reply was, 'me too.' Then he said, 'I guess it's not easy being either of us right now is it.' I said, 'No, it's not,'" Howell posted on Facebook.

Howell said the officer hugged her and she began to cry.

"I had never seen that man before in my life. I have no idea why he was moved to talk to me," she wrote on Facebook.

"What I do know is that he and I shared a moment this morning, that was absolutely beautiful. No judgments, No justifications, just two people sharing a moment," she wrote.

People who read Howell's post initially thought the officer was from the Andover Police Department because of her tagged location. However, Andover police said the officers were part of the Lawrence Police Department.

"Kudos to these Lawrence Police Department officers and all officers who do the right thing every day," the Andover Police Department posted on their Facebook page.