“Just wanted to praise some officers!”

That’s how a post recently sent to the City of Athens by Kaitlyn Martin began. Martin told the story of witnessing a disabled vehicle that had been stuck in the middle of U.S. 72 for at least 15 minutes.

Martin said she phoned Athens Police Department to have them check on the driver. According to comments on the city’s post, the driver had run out of gas due to a faulty gauge in her vehicle.

Martin said officers blocked traffic, put fuel in the vehicle and made sure the driver was safely driving away before departing.

“It made me happy to see this in such a messy world right now. Good job, officers,” Martin said.

Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson said Monday he had yet to hear which officers were involved in the event, but he said his department usually provides assistance like this to residents on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times in a day.

“We help cars broken down, change tires, carry people to shelters when the weather is bad and several other things it could be,” he said. “More than once we have had an officer find someone broken down and helped carry their groceries home. We do what we can to help people out.”

Johnson said he usually likes to get out in the community and hear feedback from residents on the job his officers are doing, but he has largely been unable to since the COVID-19 pandemic struck. One recent example was getting an email Monday morning from a man in South Dakota who was pulled over for speeding during a recent trip.

“He said they were fine guys, and he was very impressed on their professionalism,” Johnson said. “We hear stuff like that quite often. That’s why it’s important to get the right people. You have to have the mindset of a public servant.”

Johnson said when he hears stories like this one, he usually puts a note in the officer’s file and will mention it when he next sees them.

“We won’t do it this year, but usually we have a banquet at the end of the year where we will give out commendations and tell them how much we appreciate them.”