(Photo: Prince George's County Police Department)
Corporal Che Atkinson of Prince George's County, Maryland was at his police station doing paperwork when he learned that a homeless woman and her baby were in the lobby. There was no shelter available for them and they had nowhere to go. So Atkinson contacted a social worker and headed out on patrol.
When he got back, he found the mother and baby still there. There had been no progress on finding them shelter. So Atkinson packed them and their belongings into a patrol car and took them to a hotel. He paid for the room out of his own pocket.
While he was doing so, his sergeant surreptitiously photographed him. Then he posted the photos with the story on Facebook. The public response has been, to say the last, positive. WUSA9 reports (auto-start video):
"I'm a little overwhelmed and shocked. And the reason why is it didn't seem like a big deal to me because I see other officers do stuff like this all the time,” Atkinson said "It's not a big deal."
People online said what he did was far from ordinary, they say it was a "beautiful act of kindness."
"This is a helpless child so it's our duty to help and that child was definitely in need," Atkinson said.
Police said the woman and her child are now with relatives.
-via Huffington Post