Crime & Safety
Cop's Helping Hand for Distraught Woman the Finest Example of 'Protect and Serve'
The mentally disabled woman was too upset to trust police—but one compassionate officer found a way.
A 21-year-old mentally disabled woman who wandered away from her DuPage County home got a helping hand and some comfort from a police officer.
Bloomingdale Police on Friday received a call that the woman had strayed from her home. They found her walking along a street, “visibly scared and upset.” She wouldn’t go with police until one officer took some extra steps to put her at ease. Officer Michael Giovenco grabbed her hand and began walking alongside her.
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“Officer Giovenco was able to calm her down and she advised that she just wanted to walk the ‘trails,’” police said in a Facebook post. “(He) told her that he would walk the ‘trails’ with her.”
He held her hand the entire time.
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