By Police1 Staff
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A woman invited the police officer who arrested her on drug charges to her college graduation after she said he turned her life around.
Five years ago, Tiffany Hall was arrested by Long Beach Police Department Lt. Jim Foster, ABC News reported. Hall said the officer urged her to find a better path in life and encouraged her to go to school.
“He would encourage me all the time,” Hall said. “‘Tiffany, you can do better than this. Tiffany, why don’t you try to go to school? Tiffany, why don’t you stop?’”
Years later, Hall and Lt. Foster crossed paths again at the Long Beach police headquarters, where she surprised the lieutenant with an invitation to her college graduation.
“I want to thank Lt. Jim Foster for his respect and his compassion and the empathy that he showed to me and anyone he came in contact with,” Hall said.
Lt. Foster was grateful for the invitation and assured her that he would be at her graduation. He said success stories like Hall’s are one of the highlights of being a police officer.
“The biggest joy of my professional career is from time to time having contact with people who have found their way out of horrible circumstances and into life’s success, things that a lot of us just take for granted for people who have a much rougher life story,” Lt. Foster said.
Hall said she hopes to become a social worker in the future.