A question posted on Quora asked, “What is the most moving thing that you’ve ever seen a police officer do?” Retired cop Tim O’Pry gave his opinion on the topic, below. Check it out and share your thoughts in the comments.
I’ve seen my fellow brothers and sisters do many kind and charitable things over my many years — as well as firefighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses and the everyday citizen as well. While crime and conflict make the news, the good things far outweigh the bad, but we rarely hear of them. They can be as simple as helping someone change a flat tire to consoling a parent who has lost a child. Most probably do not seem very moving, but they all matter.
I will give but one story among many, only because I knew this individual for many years and saw him help people on a regular basis. We called him “brother Jim.” He was a lay preacher who joined the department in his late 30s, wanting to both earn a better living for his family and find additional people he could “minister to.” While he never proselytized nor forced his religious beliefs on anyone, he exemplified what I think of as the basic tenants of most religions and followed the golden rule. But do not think that he could not also be as tough as required when problems arose.
One cold winter early morning (as in 2 or 3 am) the PD and EMS are dispatched to a “person down”; the location is under an overpass where the homeless sometimes camp. The subject of the call is a homeless man that looks like he is in his 70s but was probably only in his 40s — a hard life of drug and alcohol abuse had taken its toll. As I recall, he was in the final stages of liver and/or renal failure and looked liked this would be his final ride.
As the paramedics tend to the gentleman, brother Jim is at his side, holding his hand and comforting him as best he can. Jim does not have gloves on and does not seem to notice or care about the state of this man’s hygiene. The man was sobbing about not wanting to die alone under a bridge. Jim assured him that the paramedics would take him to Grady and he (Jim) would not let him die alone.
Sometime later, Jim and I were talking and he mentioned that “Fred” had passed away recently and he was taking some personal time to attend his funeral. Turns out that “Fred” was the homeless man — Jim had visited him at Grady for several days until he passed away. Jim said that Fred did not have any family or friends and the funeral would consist of an indigent burial at a local cemetery. While I had seen Jim do many kind things for cop and citizen alike, this one seemed a bit over the top — even for him — and I asked him why. Fred was dead, he had no friends or family — no one will know. Why use some of your limited off time just to stand at a gravesite for a few minutes to watch someone you don’t know be buried — no one will know or care.
Jim simply smiled and said, “I will know and God always knows.”
