Good NewsNYPD officer helps out mom with sick son
Charnee Merritt’s 8-year-old son, Israel, has Neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer.
The Ohio mom is staying with her son at the Ronald McDonald House in New York City while he undergoes treatment.
On March 26, Merritt unknowingly parked her rental car too close to a fire hydrant. It got towed. In a panick, the out-of-town mom called the 19th Precinct.
NYPD officer P.J. Conley took her call.
“She tells me her car got towed and her son was here getting treated, it broke my heart so I tried to make some calls to pier 76 to see if they would help us out a little to no avail,” Conley told PIX 11.
So Conley decided to help her out. He drove to the Ronald McDonald House and gave Merritt the money she needed to get her car out of towing. He then paid for an Uber car to take Merritt to get her car back.
Merritt shared the story on Facebook:
“My rental car had got towed on March 26 on the street of the Ronald McDonald House. I called the tow company and they were very rude. I then called the police because I thought they towed my car and got an angel on the phone named officer Patrick. He called the tow company and they were rude to him as well. Out of the goodness of his heart he came to the Ronald and gave me $185 for the tow and $20 for the taxi.”
“There are still really good police officers out there in light of everything that is going on, there are still good police officers,” a grateful Merritt said of the officer’s act of kindness.
Merritt told PIX 11 that she hopes to be able to “pay it forward.”
Learn more about Israel’s cancer — and how to help him — by visiting the Facebook page “Join the Cause to Help Israel Fight Neuroblastoma” or Israel’s YouCaring fundraising page.
We’re big fans of stories of cops going “above and beyond” the call of duty.
In September, two Portland officers responded to an accident involving a Pizza Hut delivery man. They then made the man’s deliveries for him.
In October, a Michigan cop pulled over a mom at a traffic stop. Instead of ticketing the cash-strapped mother for not having her 5-year-old daughter in an appropriate booster seat, Officer Ben Hall bought her one.
“A ticket doesn’t solve the situation. What solves it, is the child being in a booster seat like she should be. Easiest $50 I ever spent,” explained Officer Hall.
In November, two officers in Colorado came to the aid of an 86-year-old great-grandmother whose purse had been snatched at Target. They cancelled her credit cards, finished her shopping for her, drove her home, picked up her spare set of keys, and then returned to the parking lot to pick up her car.
“Out of their own money, they changed the door locks to her front door, so she wouldn’t be victimized again if they came back to her address,” said Aurora Police spokeswoman Diana Cooley.
And in December, two Florida officers responded to an accidental 911 call, only to discover a down-on-their-luck family in need of some Christmas cheer.
The next day, the officers returned to the house with a Christmas tree, lights and decorations — all paid for out of their own pockets. Their good deed inspired local good Samaritans to drop off toys and gift cards for the struggling family.
