ATLANTA — A moment of kindness between a Gwinnett County officer and a man down on his luck was captured on bodycam video and shared via Gwinnett PD's X page.
According to the department, Sgt. Todd Heller used $150 of his money to help purchase supplies for a homeless man he encountered on the street who would be facing a cold night.
Sgt. Heller said it all started when he was driving down an interstate and saw a man holding a sign. It was that same piece of paper that made him take notice, he said.
Written on bright yellow paper in black, bold letters were the words, "Waiting on a blessing. Anything helps."
The words struck a chord with Heller and made him stop his car.
"I rolled down my window and asked, 'What kind of blessing are you waiting for," Heller recalled. "He said, 'I don't know, you got a blanket?'"
It was at that moment that Sgt. Heller decided to go beyond the call of duty -- asking the man to take a trip with him to get whatever he needed.
"I could tell that he was kind of standoffish and kind of taken aback that I was proposing the idea of getting in the patrol car and going to Walmart," he said.
But despite the apprehension, Heller was able to convince the man with the sign. Soon, the unlikely pair formed a camaraderie of sorts.
"We talked about how he had ended up homeless, and he said he had fallen on some hard times," Heller said.
And 15 minutes later, they took a shopping trip together -- browsing around and packing up a cart with necessities like a blanket and other warming supplies. Heller said he didn't know what the total price would be but that, in the end, it all rang up to $150 out of his own pocket.
It was a good deed he thought would fly under the radar. He did not expect anything to come out of that day. But then, Gwinnett County Police noticed it during a monthly body camera audit and posted it on social media for others to see.
Sgt. Heller put his best foot forward to help one man get back on his feet that day. And as the two left their shopping trip and trekked back to the car, the Sgt. told the man he hoped he was blessed and could be put on a path out of poverty.
But in the end, Heller was just doing what felt right: leaning into a calling to help others.
"My faith is the most important thing in my life," he said. "And so I believe in do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
You can watch the full interaction with Sgt. Heller and the man below!
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