Good Samaritans

Barnett Pate
HPD
A blowout on Nicole Schwartz’s vehicle stranded her near the San Felipe and Bellmeade intersection.

Officer Barnett W. Pate checked on Schwartz and told her the blowout was likely caused by the tire hitting a curb.

Instead of chastising her for a “stupid error,” Pate simply made her aware of what had happened and cautioned her to be more careful in the future, Schwartz wrote.

“Of course, I must mention that he informed me of this potential problem as he knelt in the mud in his pressed uniform, changing my tire.

“Furthermore, not only did he give me this helpful advice in his affable and gentle fashion, but he also mentioned another one of my tires had a bubble in its sidewall and was at great risk to blow out.”

Because of Pate’s observation, Schwartz went directly to a repair shop. “Officer Pate may have saved me from not one, but two anxious and protracted waits by the side of the road,” she wrote.

“He’s a credit to your force and a gentleman of the first order.”

Shawn Hauptmann, Marc Wilson, Scott Kimsey
Convention & Entertainment Facilities
Dr. Robert Sterling suffered a broken hip and elbow in a Segway accident near Rice University. The impact of the collision threw Sterling behind some bushes that hid him from public view, said Councilman Mark Goldberg.

Shawn Hauptmann, Marc Wilson and Scott Kimsey discovered Sterling, called 911 and cared for him until an emergency medical squad arrived.

Sterling was so grateful he offered the men a cash reward. When they declined his offer, he made two donations totaling $900 to the Miller Theatre Advisory Board in their names, Goldberg said.

“These three men are shining examples of how a good neighbor acts,” Goldberg said. “They saw somebody in need and they reacted quickly to help that person.”

Bryan Klevens
Police
Because of her poor sense of direction, June Alstore relied on her husband to transport her around Houston. After he died, she avoided busy downtown streets. Then, a meeting required her to travel into the city.

She quickly became lost in the bustle of downtown streets. “My worst nightmare was now facing me,” she wrote.

Alstore drove around in circles for more than an hour, growing more upset by the moment. Then she spotted Officer Bryan Klevens on the sidewalk and called out to him.

“Not only did the officer help direct me out of traffic so I wouldn’t have an accident, but he also took the time to draw me a map – on a napkin, no less! – to where I was going, and a second one to get me home,” Alstore wrote.

But Klevens wasn’t done with his Good Samaritan act, she wrote.

“On top of all of that, the officer, seeing how upset I was, offered me his unopened bottle of water to help calm me down.