FORT WORTH, Texas (WSVN) — An 95-year-old man in Texas woke up drenched in sweat when his old window-mounted air conditioner stopped working. Unsure of what to do, Julius Hatley called 911.
Fort Worth police officers arrived at the World War II veteran’s house around 8 a.m. Thursday morning, and realized it was already 85 degrees inside, Fox 4 reports. Worried about the elderly man’s health, they realized he needed help.
“I talked to my partner and I talked to the gentleman and said, ‘Look, we’re going to help you out. I’ll be back in just a little bit. I promise you,’” Officer William Margolis told him.
Margolis and his partner Christopher Weir drove to Home Depot to buy Hatley a new AC unit. Weir snapped a few photos and posted them on social media, where their generous gesture quickly spread.
“This is what we do the job for. We don’t do it to issue citations and arrests, we do it to help people,” Weir said. “We got to see some humanity today and makes all of us feel good.”
When a Home Depot manager heard about the officers’ act of kindness, the store covered the $150 price of the window AC, according to Fox 4.
Though the officers admit their law enforcement training doesn’t cover appliance installation, the managed to get the new unit working with the help of another officer.
Margolis and Weir now say they are going to help get Hatley’s central air conditioning system fixed so he doesn’t have to rely solely on the window unit.
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