An Encounter Gone Wrong
That was a typical evening for officer Coates. He was conducting traffic stops for speeding on Mound Road and was ready to head home soon. Suddenly, he noticed an older man. When the officer looked closer, he realized that man was crying.
He wasn't sure if he should approach the stranger. But since the older man looked really desperate, he decided to do so. Little did he know how much that decision would mean for that 79-year-old man and his family.
David and His Wife
David was happily married and well settled professionally in his life. He loved his wife immensely and was always ready to go above and beyond to fulfill all of her wishes.
Some years later, his wife was pregnant, and they were ready to start a new chapter in their life finally. But who could know God had slightly different plans for them?
David’s Son is Born
After 9 months of tiring pregnancy, David’s wife finally delivered a beautiful baby boy. The couple was ecstatic to have a tiny human of their own and raise him to become a smart, successful, and handsome man.
A few days after the delivery, David and his wife took their son home and got him settled in the brand-new nursery. But soon David began noticing some atypical behavior in his baby...
Visit the Hospital
David discussed this with his wife and the couple decided to take their son to the hospital. They were becoming increasingly worried day by day.
This was their first child, and they had a lot of insecurities. Luckily, they found a real professional to talk to. But the day they had a conversation with the doctor, their lives drastically changed forever.
Special Needs Son
The doctor told them their son has some genetic birth defect and is a special needs child. The couple couldn’t believe their ears and had an extremely difficult time coming to terms with reality. To be sure, they visited numerous more doctors but all of them had similar things to say.
Eventually, they accepted their son’s condition, they still loved him immensely and decided to raise him the same way they had earlier planned. They would give him everything he ever needed.
Their Son Grows Up
David was no less than superman, he took care of David and was a hands-on dad. He also managed his professional life efficiently and gave nobody any reason to complain. He knew how difficult it can be for his wife to take care of their special needs son alone, hence, he was always there by her side to look after their son.
David with all the love, affection, and care he received grew up to be a very smart boy. David could sometimes see his wife still worried about her son, as to who will take care of him if anything happens to them, but he did not let her dwell on this thought for long.
David Wife’s Health
Raising a kid can be very challenging and raising a special needs kid is double the challenge. The constant work and mental pressure took a toll on David’s wife’s health.
Over the years, her health deteriorated, and she became sick each passing day. This greatly worried David but he did not let his fears overcome him. He continued to look after his special-needs son as well as his sick and aging wife.
David Was Also Growing Old
However, it was not only his wife who was growing old - David was also growing old. But he tried so hard not to let his age slow him down.
He continued to outdo himself and push him beyond his capabilities to make his wife and son happy. One day this same urge to do something special for his wife and son got him in trouble - he was caught by a police officer.
A Police Officer Pulls Over David
Kevin Coates, a Michigan police officer was conducting a routine traffic stop on 30 September 2021. While keeping an eye out for speeding cars he identified one man for speeding and asked him to pull over.
The man he identified was 79-year-old David. Due to the police officer’s instructions, David parked the car on the side and got down from his vehicle.
David Breaks Down
When David got down from the car and officer Coates made eye contact with him, the officer could see that the 79 years old driver was visibly distressed. When officer Coates asked him what was wrong, David broke down and started crying.
Upon asking more questions, officer Coates found out that David is a resident of Sterling Heights for more than a decade now. David had been speeding because he wanted to get some urgent work done and had been driving between various electronic stories the past few hours.
Officer Coates Asks More Questions
Seeing how distressed David was, officer Coates asked him more questions and what kind of help he exactly needed. David told him he has a sick wife and special needs son back home. He had bought for his family a brand new 50-inch television because both of them enjoyed watching television.
However, he couldn’t get the television to work despite various attempts and has been, hence, driving between different electronic stores asking for help.
David’s Frustration
Despite these efforts, David was not successful in finding help. He was very frustrated and needed help. His wife and son were waiting for him to return home and get the television plugged in and started.
Being a 79-year-old man, he was not very comfortable with the current technological apparatuses and found it extremely difficult to get the television working.
Officer Coates Offers to Help
Officer Coates attentively listened to David. It did not take more than a second to offer him help. Surely, it was Coates' ambition as part of the Sterling Heights Police Department to keep the residents of his area safe and happy.
He was more than happy to go out of his way and beyond the call of his duty to help David. But it was not only a duty that made the officer do that.
Officer's Past
It is not very often that people come across police officers as generous as officer Coates. There was however a reason why officer Coates was such a big-hearted police officer who was always happy to help the citizens in any way possible.
When he was a young boy of 14, he was out with his dad one night to get ice cream for the family. On the way back, his father started experiencing pain in his chest and had to pull the car to the side, it was then a police officer came and offered to help them.
A Police Officer Comes
A police officer passing by noticed that a car was pulled over in the middle of the highway, he instantly knew something was not right. He also pulled over his car, got down, and walked over to the car and the two people sitting inside.
He saw that a man was sitting on the steering wheel clutching his chest whereas a young boy, probably his son, was looking at him extremely worried and clueless as to what was happening. He tapped the window and asked the man what was wrong.
The Officer Calls 911
Coates' father told the police officer that he was experiencing intense chest pain and was not in a position to drive to the hospital. The police officer did not waste more than a second to call 911.
Meanwhile, he asked Coates’ father to relax as help was on its way. Soon, paramedics arrived, checked up on Coates' father, and took him to the hospital.
The Police Officer Drops Them Home
It can be extremely scary for a young boy to witness his father being taken to the hospital in a gurney. The police officer could sense how scared Coates was and did not leave his side for even a second. Fortunately, Coates' father was just experiencing pain due to gastric issues and was allowed to go home after a brief checkup.
The police officer offered to drop the father-son duo back home because their car was left behind on the highway. Not only did he drop them home, but he also offered to get their car picked up from the highway and dropped home.
The Police Officer Left a Mark on Coates
Young Coates was highly impressed by the police officer’s generosity. Even the thought of what could have happened if the police officer did not show up on time scared Coates.
It was that day he decided that he will become a police officer just like him and protect people whenever they need help. Subsequently, when David was distressed and needed help, police officer Coates did not hesitate even for a second before offering help.
He promised To Go to David’s Home
David was stopped because he was speeding, officer Coates however, did not issue him a ticket and just verbally warned him about the speeding violation. Moreover, he made a promise to David that he would come to his home and get his TV started for the family.
He asked his colleague officer Remi Verougstraete and new recruit officer Jeremy Jakushevich to assist him. This compassionate act of kindness touched David and he couldn’t stop thanking his stars for running into officer Coates.
The Police Officer Reached David’s Home
All the three officers rose to the challenge of assisting David with setting up his family TV. Within an hour after the traffic stop officer Coates made with David, all three officers reached David’s home and installed the new television set for him, and hooked up the cable.
David kept thanking them for their help, otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to start the television on his own. Even David’s wife thanked all the three officers for their generosity and service.
David’s Son’s Smile
For officer Coates, the best part about assisting David in installing the family television set was the smile he saw on David’s son post the installation. The television set was a surprise from David for his wife and son.
When he couldn’t get the TV working David’s son got extremely sad. He was waiting eagerly for the TV to start working so he could watch his favorite shows with his mom and dad. He couldn’t stop smiling when the TV started working with the help of three very generous police officers.
Sterling Heights Police Chief
Officer Coates and his colleague's act of kindness spread far and wide very quickly. Eventually, Sterling Heights Police Chief Dwojakowski got to know about this act of kindness from police officers of his department.
He was extremely proud of their act of kindness. It was the simple principle of taking care of the community that officer Coates followed, something all of us need to learn and follow.
A Lesson for David’s Son
Just like officer Coates vowed to become a police officer and help people in need after witnessing a random act of kindness from a police officer, he thought maybe he left a good impression on David’s son also. Young kids have impressionable and smart minds, they pick things quickly.
Seeing officer Coates standing up for his father when he was distressed, he will be motivated to do the same. He might be a special needs kid but with good training and motivation, he can achieve anything he wants.
Special Needs Children
The world often tends to look at special needs children differently. The world sometimes also turns a blind eye towards them. However, this is extremely wrong and can break their self-confidence into a million little pieces.
Instead, they should be motivated to work hard, believe in themselves as they are capable of achieving the same things as any other kid.
The Three Officers Set a Great Example
The three police officers, officer Coates, officer Verougstraete, and the new recruit officer Jakushevich are great examples of the amazing service the Sterling Heights Police Department provides.
They believe in the fact that they are responsible for the safekeeping of all the community members. Their chief was extremely proud of them. He asked all the other officers to learn from them and imbibe the same in their duty.
Everyone Should Learn
It is not only a learning lesson for the other police officers but all the members of the community. One should always be ready to help others in need. These random acts of kindness can go a long way.
Just like officer Coates took out time to patiently listen to David instead of just hearing him out for the sake of it, we should all do the same.