4 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: AUGUST 2017 Hats off to the officers who helped this guy out Texas man and his family are blown away by the kindness of strangers According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there have been a total of 7,233 heat- related deaths in the U.S. between the years of 1999-2009. In that time, an average of 658 people died of heat-related causes each year. “A heat stroke is when a patient’s temperature rises to 105 F, which can result in nausea, fever, confusion and loss of consciousness,” said Dr. Houman Danesh, Director of Integrative Pain Management at The Mount Sinai Hospital. The very old and the very young face the most risk from exposure to extreme temperatures. Not just uncomfortable, downright deadly! Julius Hatley is a pretty sprightly guy for 95. He usually sits in the shade of his porch every day to keep cool and frequently works through the Texas heat in his garden at his home despite the high tempera- tures. He also had an old AC he turned on during “emer- gency heat.” It was a blazing hot day when the unit died and Hatley decided to call 911 because that’s what people tend to do when they’re in trouble. Two Ft. Worth offi- cers, after responding to some higher priority calls, showed up a few hours later. Officers William Margo- lis and Christopher Weir went above and beyond. “When we got there around 8:30 AM his house was 85 to 90 degrees al- ready,” Mr. Margolis told CBS. “In Texas, it gets hot.” More often than not, this is the part where the cops tell the guy, “Hey, that really sucks, man. Sorry about that. Hopefully the city or your fam- ily can come help you out.” But these two officers went s t r a i g h t t o Home Depot. And guess what? Kind- ness and car- ing can be con- tagious. After the of- ficers told the Home Depot guys they were going into their own pocket to help out an elderly taxpay- er, everyone started pulling their wallets out. “While we were there, Home Depot managers and employees decided to contribute $150 of their own money to help with the cause,” Officer Weir’s wife, Jennifer, wrote on Facebook. “This is what being an officer is about.” Officer Weir came back to the residence with Offi- cer Steven Rebrovich later that day to install the unit. Mr. Hatley told report- ers, “I appreciate that,” and posed for several pictures with the officers. And about that kind- ness and caring contagion thing … After this tale of kindness and compassion hit social media, everyone wanted to get in on the act. Chris Weir said an air conditioning company called and even offered to replace his system for free. Then some folks replaced his windows and painted his house. Jennifer Weir posted on Facebook that groceries were being delivered every week. She praised the com- munity for rallying around Mr. Hatley. Officer Margolis said he planned to check up on Mr. Hatley to make sure he’s OK and shoot the breeze. “He’s 95 years old and he’s a World War II veteran,” he said. “He’s a hero. In our eyes he’s our hero.” Far left: Julius Hatley, 95, and Fort Worth Police Officer William Margolis pose for a photo after Margolis helped install an air conditioner in his Texas home. Near left: the new unit gets installed. Above: Officer Margolis at Home Depot.