A police officer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is getting kudos for a seemingly simple act of kindness that meant the world to an elderly woman in his community. On January 7, Officer Hobson was sent to a reported burglary. As happens sometimes, the call had been muddled and was, in fact, simply an elderly resident who was concerned about the lock on her front door.

She was worried that the hardware wasn’t appropriate for the door, which led to her sleeping in the living room because she feared someone might let themselves into the house. 

Hobson checked the door and found that she wasn’t wrong. 

Instead of writing it up and hitting the road, he took a quick trip to Home Depot, came back to the house, and explored his inner handyman. By the time he left, the lady had a working lock and, hopefully, some peace of mind. 

A shoutout on Bethlehem P.D.’s Facebook page has already garnered several positive comments from the community. One man shared a story about some officers who had gone above and beyond to help his mother when her boiler went out, even waiting with her while the firefighter they called finished his dinner before coming out to help. 

Another said she was “… glad to hear men with compassion … are keeping … the public safe.” Many others shared their own positive experiences with the department.

An area news outlet also ran with the story, with the title claiming “This is what community policing looks like.” 

While the article was equally complimentary of Officer Hobson, the reference to community policing isn’t strictly true. With the all-too-common barrage of negative media spin regarding law enforcement, it’s easy to assume that actions like Hobson’s are the exception. Community policing (which actually refers to an overall departmental philosophy that affects everything from training to command structure) becomes a codeword for cops just being decent toward people. Officer Hobson would probably point out that he wasn’t doing anything special or embracing some new trend. Rather, he was just doing what he always does.

“I got into policing to help people” sounds almost silly in a world drenched in the harsh realities of policing, but it’s true for many officers. The reality is that cops across the country routinely go out of their way (and above and beyond) to help their fellow humans. It’s nice to see Officer Hobson and Bethlehem P.D. get recognized for it.