With all the negative media attention on police officers of late, both real and imagined, it’s nice to hear about police officers that are using their position for good. We have one such story today.
A perfect example of some honorable officers comes from the city of Mount Pleasant, Tennessee. One night in 2016, an elderly man made a phone call to the police department with a very unique request. Expecting to hear that he was in danger or hurt, the officers were shocked to hear that the 79-year-old man had not eaten in two days.
When officers arrived, they found out that the elderly man’s previous caretaker had stolen his debit card, leaving him no money to purchase food.
Sadly stories like this are all too common. The National Council on Aging reports that approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60+ have experienced some form of elder abuse. Some estimates suggest that as many as 5 million elders are abused each year.
These officers were intent on correcting this example of abuse. Knowing that they could not just buy this man one meal, Mt Pleasant police officers Gray, Odom, Runion, and Bolton went to the store to purchase food for him with money out of their own paychecks. In total, they spent $160 and were able to stock his pantry with a month’s worth of food.
And by the way….the officer also caught up with woman who stole the debit card.