When the elderly man called 911 on Saturday saying he had not eaten in two days, four officers from the Mt. Pleasant Police Department sprang into action.
A group of police officers went above and beyond the call of duty, reaching into their own pockets to provide for a Tennessee man in need, officials said.
When the elderly man called 911 on Saturday saying he had not eaten in two days, four officers from the Mt. Pleasant Police Department sprang into action, Lt. Det. Terry Chandler told INSIDE EDITION.
“All four got together and they went out and bought this man a month’s worth of groceries out of their own pocket,” Chandler said.
Officers Brian Gray, Nathan Bolton, Buddy Odom and Adam Runions delivered about $160 worth of food to the man’s home and put it away for him as well.
“This is an elderly man who is on oxygen… He gets his Social Security check loaded onto his (debit) card every month and that’s how he gets by,” Chandler said.
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The card had been stolen earlier this month and a former caretaker was arrested in connection with the incident, Chandler told IE.
Photos that one of the officers took of the good deed quickly went viral, with many commending the men for their actions.
“I couldn't ask for better guys to work with,” the officer wrote on the photo.
“These guys did this out of the goodness of their own hearts, we had no idea this was going to get this sort of attention,” he continued.
Gray and Bolton have been fulltime members of the department for about a year. Gray has 13 years of experience as a police officer and Bolton has about 10 years of experience, Chandler said.
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Runions and Odom have both worked for about two years as reserve officers, who serve the community for free.
The Mt. Pleasant Police Department consists of 12 officers and five reserve officers.
“We’re a small community. Our officers, including myself, if we see someone broke down on the side of the road and they’ve got a flat tire, we stop and change the tire ourselves,” Chandler said.
That community-minded thought process has led the Department to create a food pantry to provide for others in need.
“The more attention this got, the more we found that people really needed help,” Chandler said. “We’re not set up to take care of everybody, but we have put together a food pantry and people are bringing food in to us.
“We just want to take care of the community,” he continued. “That’s all.”
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