METHUEN -- Mayor Stephen N. Zanni
and Chief Joseph Solomon report that Methuen Police Officer Dan O'Connell
used his own money to help a Haverhill woman get home safely last week after
she was stranded at a local strip mall.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 7,
Officer O'Connell was dispatched to The Loop for a report of a distraught
female who possibly needed assistance. Upon arrival, Officer O'Connell learned
that the female subject had been left behind at The Loop with no money to get
home.
After speaking with the woman for about a half
hour, Officer O'Connell was able to calm her down and offered to use his own
money to pay for a taxi to get her home to Haverhill.
Unfortunately, Officer O'Connell only had $24
in cash and a taxi ride would cost $26. In order to get enough money for the
woman to get home, the officer went into Starbucks to make a purchase so he
could get cash back.
When he told a Starbucks
employee, Rachel Menton, why he needed the cash, she gave Officer
O'Connell the difference out of her own money.
"Thanks to the generosity of Officer
O'Connell and Rachel, this Haverhill resident was comforted after a stressful
situation and able to get home safely," Chief Solomon said. "This is
a fine example of the small, yet selfless gestures that our police officers make
every day that make an enormous impact on the lives of people in the community.
I am proud of Officer O'Connell for setting that example."
After speaking with Menton, Officer O'Connell
learned that she studied crime scene investigation at Florida Southwestern State
College.
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