A humbling experience.....

[shooter1201]

I got dispatched to a 'suspicious person' call around 0715 this AM. The complainant stated 'a man on a bicycle was giving drivers nasty looks.' No lie....

So....I find the guy in question and pull in behind him. You guys have seen it before: 'Typical' homeless guy(mid-late 40s) with all his earthly possessions strapped to a broken down bicycle....

I had no more gotten out of my car than he was reaching for his 'papers'. You could see the 'Here we go again...' look in his eyes. I felt ashamed.

I ran his ID(A DoD 214 and hospital discharge papers(some Arkansas Mental Health Facility)was all he had). He came back clear on NCIC.

I asked him where he was coming from and where he was going. He'd started out in Memphis(115 miles away) and was headed to Birmingham, AL(over 200 miles away)....on a 20-inch bicycle.

He had his route all laid out on a scrap piece of map. I informed him how far it was to the US route(US78) he was planning on taking, asked him when he'd last eaten, where he slept, etc....planning on getting him a room and meal voucher. However, he was in a hurry to take advantage of the good weather and wanted to get as far South as he could before the weather changed.

So...I gave him some $$$ and a new pair of 'Day-Glo' insulated traffic gloves I had in the car...and watched him pedal off.

After getting back in my nice, warm car and going '10-8', I called dispatch on my cellphone and told them 'why' he was probably giving folks 'dirty looks'. It was 26* and I can only imagine what the wind blast felt like to him.

If I read the guy's info correctly(it was rather tattered), he was Airborne.

[Oink]

quote:

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So...I gave him some $$$ and a new pair of 'Day-Glo' insulated traffic gloves I had in the car...and watched him pedal off.

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Sounds like 'Above and Beyond the call of Duty' to me.
Keep up the great work!

[156]

Shooter, you're a good man. God bless you.

[Matto]

Good deal, very nice of you man. Do you work in the state of Arkansas?

[Sparky]

We used to give alot of vets like this a courtesy transport to the end of our jurisdiction.

[Lictalon]

God bless, Shooter. You're what they had in mind when my parents told me if I had a problem, go find a cop.

[Tacdriver]

Besides being the kind of Law Enforcement Officer everyone should strive to be, you are a kind man. What you did was not unfamiliar to some of us, maybe a different scenario, maybe a different kind gesture. You are to be applauded and, you probably don't want that. The media will never report this, the people in your town won't acknowledge it and, your superiors might even critisize your actions. Yet, the first time you act remotely human in an unkind way, all of the above will be on your ***. Sad isn't it? Merry Christmas to you and your family sir. You deserve it.

[Mr.Orange]

Shooter, I'm usually Mr.Negativity, but you are one good guy.

While you're at it, I need a new flashlight.

[InSane1]

I clicked the wrong damn thread.. disregard

[ 12-24-2002, 02:57 AM: Message edited by: InSane1 ]

[JKT]

Shooter, that is the true Christmas Spirit.

And, why most of us got into this line of work.

God Bless.

[Sam]

A fellow Paratrooper... Thanks for taking care of him, we might have served together if he was in the 82nd from 76-80.

[Mitzi]

I've always known Shooter was a true angel. You are, Shooter. You left him warmer and with $$$ that will help feed him. I'm sure he knows you were an angel too.

[txinvestigator1]

quote:

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God bless, Shooter. You're what they had in mind when my parents told me if I had a problem, go find a cop

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Only thing left to say is "Amen".

Sounds like something a special man whose birthday is celebrated tomorrow would do.

[PeteBroccolo]

Good man, shooter! It begs the question, however - how the heck can a man serve his country, then have NOTHING to show for it, other than some worn papers?

Nobody says he has to be plopped into Bill Gates' tax bracket, but maybe a place to live? If he had to spend time having his head candled, you would think Uncle Sam would be able to help out a grunt a little bit more than that.

[Mitzi]

Every year at Christmas, my father pins on a purple heart. It's his brothers, who died in the war. We see him, always around 3pm, go out in his acre of land and sit on a log, thinking. He's 81 now and we leave him to his thoughts. I often wonder what he is thinking but I won't intrude. I'm sure he's remember his brother and is fellow military friends, most gone by now. I KNOW he's remembering his best friend who died in his arms.
He is probably remembering his Dad, his wonderful loving Mother and his 9 sisters and brothers that had to go on before him. He has 2 younger sisters left.
My Dad dropped out of high school to join up as so many did in WWII. He worked all his life cleaning boilers and doing plumbing to support his family and just recently got his honorary high school degree. He's very proud of it.
But our nation never really showed their gratitude. Sure, they get some benefits but not enough. I'm typing on my computer because my father and so many men from our country and others fought for my freedom to do so.
I'm going to try and get a picture of my Dad, sitting and reflecting, at age 81, on his acreage of land he loves so dearly. But I will ask first. I'm very proud of him but I think he lost a lot more then he will ever tell his children.