By Mike Christen
The Daily Herald
COLUMBIA, Tenn. — When the Mt. Pleasant Police Department received a call Saturday that one of the city’s elderly residents was hungry, the on-duty officers put their money together to purchase and personally deliver a month’s worth of groceries to the caller.
Patrolmen Adam Runions, Nathan Bolton, Buddy Odom and Brian Grey were all eating lunch together when the call came in.
The four were aware of a previous case surrounding William Isabell who, on Jan. 3, reported $70 in cash and a debit card stolen from his wallet by a former caregiver named Tammy Brooks.
Because he was unable to access his bank account on his own, Isabell would have trouble purchasing groceries for the month.
“Somebody needed our help and that is what we are here for,” Bolton said. “As far as we go, it’s just who we are and how we where raised. You put other people before yourself and you try and take care of somebody.”
The four put their money together and purchased $160 worth of groceries at a local store.
“We all just lended a hand and took care of business. It was the right thing for us to do,” Grey said.
When the officers pulled up to Isabell’s home off North Main Street, Isabell was looking out of his front porch window and very surprised to see the four patrol cars pulling up to his home.
“I thank them for everything they do for me. You know I don’t have a lot of friends down here,” said Isabell, a Maury County native and retired truck driver who spent more than 40 years on routes driving from the South East to California.
He said that that his employers forced him to retire because of his diminishing health.
The officers completely filled Isabell’s refrigerator and pantry with the groceries they purchased.
“I didn’t need all that,” Isabell said.
He receives warm meals daily from a local Meals on Wheels program.
“This is a small town. We try to help everybody here,” Grey said.
Isabell, who is attended by a caregiver for five hours a day seven days a week, said that for the past few weeks officers from the department had been stopping by his home to check up on him.
“What the people of Mt. Pleasant sometimes seem to forget is that we are here to help, we are here to help them however we can,” Grey said.
The delivery, which Grey shared on his personal Facebook page, has grabbed the attention of thousands of locals and outsiders alike, including the 22nd Judicial District’s Attorney General Brent Cooper.
“These guys and girls really care about the citizens they protect. I am proud to work with these officers and others like them every day,” Cooper wrote on Grey’s Facebook page.
The officers said they have received Facebook feedback from as far away as California, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Michigan.
Isabell, who watched a segment about his story on television Monday morning, said he was grateful for what the officers did for him but not comfortable with the extra attention he has received since the story broke out.
Both he and his caretaker, Ashley Risner of Complete Care Choice, said that there was no immediate danger and that he did have enough food to last towards the end of the month.
“I didn’t ask for all those groceries,” Isabell said, denying previous reports that he had called the police department saying that he not eaten for two days.
Despite the mix up and the unexpected attention, he was grateful for the department’s help.
Mt. Pleasant Police Chief Michael Hay said he would not expect anything else from the department’s officers.
“It is not a surprise because I expect them to do whatever it takes. They did it out of the goodness of their heart. I’m ecstatic, I’m proud of them,” Hay said.
Det. Terry Chandler confirmed that the department was able to identify Tammy Brooks as a primary suspect in the case using the card at a nearby ATM and a Walmart on security footage.
Brooks has since been apprehended by the Mt. Pleasant Police Department.
Copyright 2016 The Daily Herald