Heroin addict’s letter explains how a police officer’s compassion made a difference

It’s a day this heroin addict will never forget.

The day a compassionate exchange with a police officer left the individual clean and restored his faith in humanity.

The 30-year-old recovering addict wanted to share his heartfelt experience about the Portland officer from Maine with everyone. So the man’s thank you letter was posted by Portland Maine Police Department on their Facebook page at the request of the author.

The writer wanted to stay anonymous but what we do know is that he was at a desperate moment in his life when he met police officer, Sean Hurley.

The individual describes their conversation and how Hurley became a hero, at a time when the possibility of suicide seemed real.

“His compassion, vulnerability, and inherent goodness just blew me away,” he wrote.

Last month, the man ended up on the streets after getting kicked out from a friend’s house with only the clothes on his back. Things got worse for the individual as a “shady couple” approached him and were “attempting to solicit prostitution.”

So, the individual reported the incident to the local police department.

Hurley was sent and spent the next few minutes talking to the man.

“Now, as an addict with a record who was strung out pretty bad, I would normally be extremely anxious and paranoid just having a cop talk to me, let alone having a conversation with one!” The letter reads.

The addict decided to be completely honest about their past with Hurley, who “was so polite, helpful, and sincere.”

“In a million years I wouldn’t have expected to see what I saw when I looked at him,” the heroin addict writes about Hurley. “It was obvious to me that he was fighting back tears, and then it happened. I saw a tear begin to fall down his cheek, which he promptly wiped away… which I assume was to be able to keep his composure so he could be there for me during my time of weakness.”

At the end of their conversation, Hurley hugged the addict and promised to pray for them.

Hurley told WJBQ 97.9 that he was just doing his job: “Every officer here does this every day. You never know, just looking at someone, how they’re feeling. It’s why we always like to talk to them.”

He’s definitely a hero, not only for the addict but for everyone else who’s read the letter that has drawn in more than 2,500 likes on Facebook.