Frisco officer helps stranded homeless veteran
A photograph of a Frisco police officer helping a homeless vet found along the side of the Dallas North Tollway has gone viral online.
This picture was taken Tuesday night after the officer took the man to get a hotel room and used his own money to pay for the homeless vet.
A welfare check on the man sitting on the side of Dallas Parkway brought Frisco Police Officer Brandon Ferrante to a busy stretch of road on Tuesday night.
When officer Ferrante arrived on scene he didn't find a guy sitting out by the frontage road. Instead he found him several yards away, holding onto a barbed wire fence. Ferrante said the man looked exhausted.
"I mean he was soaked to the bone. As I talk to him he tells me his story that he's trying to walk to Denton,” Ferrante said.
Ferrante found out the man was a homeless veteran who once served as a combat engineer. Ferrante, whose dad was in the Air Force, felt compelled to help.
“At that point I said we need to take care of this guy and we need to take care of him now. There's no way I'm going to let him walk to Denton,” Ferrante said.
Ferrante got the man a room at a nearby Comfort Suites. While paying for the room, with his own money, Ferrante's partner snapped a photograph of the selfless moment.
“It's not just about putting people in jail it's about helping them out,” Ferrante said.
Ferrante also passed along the phone number of a local charity, in hopes that the veteran would get some long term help.
Patrick Sowers is the founder of Operation Once in a Lifetime -- a local non-profit that helps veterans get back on their feet. So far, he hasn't heard from Ferrante's new friend.
“Number one is pride why some veterans don't reach out," Sowers said.
But even if the man in the photograph never calls, Ferrante hopes his kindness left a lasting impression.
“That's my job, that's what I'm out here doing, I'm here to help people,” Ferrante said.