MaximusIncredulous
06-Oct-2008, 11:23 PM
I wish there were more people like this wearing badges:
http://www.kmbc.com/news/17612378/detail.html
Officers Help Homeless Man Find Apartment
Police Officers Commended For Helping Harold
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man named Harold was homeless until he met two Kansas City police officers who took him under their wing.
Officers David Loar and Chris Skinner met 70-year-old Harold on New Year's Eve. The officers were checking out an alarm call in the underground parking lot of Sears at Antioch Mall when they came across Harold.
"I said (to Skinner), 'What do you have?' And he said, 'I'm not sure, but I think we got somebody under here, and he's not moving.' And then a hand went up and we said, 'Whoa, thank God he's alive,'" Loar told KMBC's Peggy Breit.
The officers had found Harold, a retired trucker who was down on his luck. Harold said he spent his nights in the parking lot after he lost his house in a divorce and his identification was stolen at a homeless shelter.
The officers worked to help Harold get some identification again, and they continued to visit him.
"It was tough those cold nights when we'd check on him, and say, 'Hey, you need a sandwich?' or 'You got plenty to drink? You warm enough?' And then to go home and climb into our beds and go, 'Man, I wonder how he's doing back there,'" Skinner said.
After a few months, the officers were able to get Harold's paperwork sorted out and they found him an apartment. Before the unit was ready, the officers put Harold up in a hotel at their own expense, Breit reported.
Thursday, Loar and Skinner received commendations for their work with Harold.
The officers said they've already received an even bigger reward.
"Our award was Harold has a house and an income and medical benefits, and he's no long sleeping on the cement at 71 years old," Loar said.
The officers said they still stop by and see Harold in his apartment.
Once Harold got his identification back, he started receiving Social Security benefits. The officers said Harold repaid them for their expenses.
http://www.kmbc.com/news/17612378/detail.html
Officers Help Homeless Man Find Apartment
Police Officers Commended For Helping Harold
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man named Harold was homeless until he met two Kansas City police officers who took him under their wing.
Officers David Loar and Chris Skinner met 70-year-old Harold on New Year's Eve. The officers were checking out an alarm call in the underground parking lot of Sears at Antioch Mall when they came across Harold.
"I said (to Skinner), 'What do you have?' And he said, 'I'm not sure, but I think we got somebody under here, and he's not moving.' And then a hand went up and we said, 'Whoa, thank God he's alive,'" Loar told KMBC's Peggy Breit.
The officers had found Harold, a retired trucker who was down on his luck. Harold said he spent his nights in the parking lot after he lost his house in a divorce and his identification was stolen at a homeless shelter.
The officers worked to help Harold get some identification again, and they continued to visit him.
"It was tough those cold nights when we'd check on him, and say, 'Hey, you need a sandwich?' or 'You got plenty to drink? You warm enough?' And then to go home and climb into our beds and go, 'Man, I wonder how he's doing back there,'" Skinner said.
After a few months, the officers were able to get Harold's paperwork sorted out and they found him an apartment. Before the unit was ready, the officers put Harold up in a hotel at their own expense, Breit reported.
Thursday, Loar and Skinner received commendations for their work with Harold.
The officers said they've already received an even bigger reward.
"Our award was Harold has a house and an income and medical benefits, and he's no long sleeping on the cement at 71 years old," Loar said.
The officers said they still stop by and see Harold in his apartment.
Once Harold got his identification back, he started receiving Social Security benefits. The officers said Harold repaid them for their expenses.