Man reunites with police officer he saved from burning vehicle despite past wrongful arrest
A Good Samaritan, with a history of being wrongfully accused by police, has been reunited with an officer he saved from a burning car wreck.
Daylan McLee, who is black, had previously spent a year in jail after being falsely accused of pointing a gun at a cop. Mr McLee had also been subject to numerous traffic stops despite not breaking any laws, he told CBS News.
However on 21 June in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Mr McLee rushed to the scene of a bad accident involving a police vehicle. One officer was trapped inside and another was trying to get the door open. The gas tank was leaking, and flames were spreading through the wreckage.
Mr McLee stepped forward to help.
“I know this man is my brother through Christ, and I couldn’t leave him behind,” he told KDKA after the accident. “I don’t know how I got that door open, and I grabbed him out."
The incident occurred at the height of nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and demands for racial justice led by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mr McLee was reunited with the officer he saved this month when he visited him at his home.
Officer Jay Hanley said: “It's amazing when there's true love in people and they can get you out of something like that — no matter who you are or where you come from. There should be more people like that.”
The officer's wife also thanked Mr McLee for his bravery with a tearful hug.
Mr McLee told CBS that despite his past experiences with the police he believes that there are lots of good officers worth keeping, and that painting groups with a broad brush doesn’t allow for the subtleties that make up our humanity.
“I want people to start to look at everybody as Americans and not, 'He's White, he's Black, he's Asian.' We're people — and when we start realising that, things should get better,” he said.
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