Cop's Good Deed Circles the Globe

Cops often get a bad rap.

Not so with Ben Hall, a western Michigan police officer who’s getting pat-on-the back phone calls from Tennessee, Chicago, Denmark, the United Kingdom and pretty much all around the world, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Hall’s getting offers from major networks to appear on morning and evening news programs, and Ellen Degeneres, the Queen of Nice, wants him for a daytime appearance. One of the Emmett Township’s police commanders, Lt. Tony Geigle, said he’s never seen anything like it – “it” being the more than 7,500 “likes,” 2,340 shares and 800 comments on the department’s Facebook page about the nice thing Hall did.

Hall, 31, said he was on patrol Oct. 4 when “dispatch called and said there was a call stating that a young child was in the car without a car seat or a booster seat.” He pulled the driver over and found the 5-year-old girl was wearing a seatbelt, but was not restrained in a car seat or booster seat, as required by Michigan law.

The child’s mother, Lexi DeLorenzo, reportedly said she understood the importance of a car seat, but said she couldn’t afford one on her limited budget.

Rough Couple of Months

“She explained she knew she was supposed to have a booster seat but she had a rough couple of months,” Hall said. “Her car had been repossessed with the child’s car seat and some other personal items.”

Giving her a ticket wasn’t the answer, and would only cost her money she didn’t have, Hall reasoned. He thought about what he would like to have happen if he were in her position, “something I could be going through someday … something anyone could have been going through,” he said.

“I was in a position to help her and her child and provide a little relief,” Hall said. “I talked to the mother about different organizations that give out car seats but it was night, Friday, on a weekend and we needed something right now.”

The stop occurred near a Battle Creek Walmart store, so instead of writing DeLorenzo a ticket, Hall told her to meet him the store’s car seat section, where they picked out a $55 car seat.

Tell Us:

• What was the last nice thing someone did for you? How did it make you feel and, more important, did you pay it forward?

He wasn’t looking for publicity for his good deed, but an employee took photos and posted them on the Emmett Township Public Safety Department’s Facebook page and opened a floodgate of goodwill.

Virtual Hug

In response to a post about her personal struggles, Facebook users were quick to offer support.

“Sweetheart,” Facebook user Carrie Anne Gray posted, “you don’t have to explain your situation to anyone. Truth be told... We have all fallen on hard times, and the ones who have so much pride to say that they haven’t yet. Well, life has a funny way of humbling people like that. I pray that something opens up for you and your family that will take some of the stress away. God bless you and your family!”

“Bad things happen to good people,young lady,” the police department responded. “And from what we were told, you are a good mother doing the best that you can under difficult circumstances. That character and quality is why he wanted to help. You stay strong and keep being a good mother to that fantastic girl of yours.”

Eric and Karen Truman added:

“Ms. DeLorenzo, you don’t have to explain yourself or defend yourself to anyone! It’s tough having to decide whether to pay for things like a car seat or feeding your child. I know, because I’ve been there. Keep your head held high and don’t lose hope. Things will get better for you, you have to believe that. Officer Hall has proven there are people out there who can effect positive change in someone’s life. Hats off to you Sir!”

And on it went, one huge virtual group hug.

DeLorenzo wrote in a comment on the page that the experience has “opened my eyes and given me hope.”

“Thank you all for the support and kind words, whether you’re family, a friend or a stranger, thank you all,” she wrote. “This officer has changed my life, not just because he purchased a car seat for my 5 year old, but because he has opened my eyes and given me hope. No my life isn’t easy, and I’m not looking for handouts. I hit a rough patch in my life recently, and the only people that know the whole story are the ones that I decide to tell.”

Hall’s boss, Chief Mike Olson, called him “a class act.”

“He turned a bad situation into a good one for the sake of the child.” Olson sid. “He could have written a ticket but the benefits for the child ought to be more important than the ticket.”

Hall insists his gesture was nothing unique.

“I did nothing that police officers don’t do on a daily basis a thousand times across the country,” he said. “I am happy to be able to shed some good positive light on law enforcement and the township.”

_______

Photo: An employee of the Battle Creek Walmart store took these photos of Emmett Township Public Safety Officer Ben Hall buying a car seat for Lexi DeLorenzo and posted it on the department’s Facebook page.