Good Samaritans

Mary Boozier-Henderson
Police
The Bush Intercontinental Airport garage elevator trapped Michael Saunders and his wife between the third and forth floors for 30 minutes.

When they got out, the couple just wanted to go home, Saunders wrote, but they realized he had left his car keys on the security table in Phoenix. They had another set locked in their car, but no way of getting to them.

When Mary Boozer-Henderson heard their story, she spent more than an hour after her shift ended trying to retrieve the keys.

No success.

They called a wrecker for help, and Boozer-Henderson stayed with them until the wrecker arrived.

“The kindness, good humor, and concern for our safety that Ms. Boozer-Henderson showed us was truly exemplary and deserves recognition. A difficult, frustrating situation turned into a pleasant time spent with a dedicated professional.”

Nolan Cinco
Police
After visiting her parents’ graves in Pearland, 73-year-old Joan Nolen eased into the fast traffic and set her cruise control. When traffic started to back up and slow down, Nolen tapped her brake … and kept right on going at the same speed.

The Mercedes’ cruise control was stuck.

“My boys would have been so proud of me because I didn’t panic,” Nolan wrote.

Nolen darted over to the right shoulder and kept hitting the brakes and jiggling the cruise control lever. The car gradually slowed and stopped on the shoulder of the off ramp.

Nolen put the car in park and turned off the engine. But when she restarted the car, it wouldn’t shift out of park. She called the Mercedes dealer in League City, and a man said he’s call a tow truck to pick up her car.

While waiting, Nolen climbed out of her car on the passenger side. “At my age, getting over that gearshift was no small feat,” she wrote.

When she got out, she noticed a white pickup truck backing up to her car.

“I really only wanted to see a tow driver,” Nolen wrote, “and I felt uneasy until I saw that it was my guardian angel, a police officer.”

Officer Nolan Cinco had been on his way home when he noticed Nolen’s car on the side of the road. Nolen told him a tow truck was on the way, but he was concerned that she was stranded in a dangerous spot. While they were talking, the tow truck driver called and said he couldn’t get to her for 45 minutes.

Cinco said that 45 minutes was too long to wait, so he arranged to have a SafeClear wrecker tow the car to a nearby auto shop. When that wrecker arrived, Cinco helped Nolen into the truck’s cab.

Cinco stayed with Nolen at the auto shop until the original tow truck arrived and took her and the car to the Mercedes dealership.

“He and I had a nice conversation while we waited,” Nolen wrote. “He remarked that he hoped that if this happened to his mother, someone would stop to help her.

“And remember, he was on his way home. I’m just so grateful that he stopped.”

E. McKelroy
Police
Officer E. McKelroy changed Betty Robert’s tire after it blew out. But the 81-year-old’s spare tire wasn’t much more inflated than the blown-out one.

So McKelroy led Robert to a police station and filled the spare with air.

“I am so grateful to have had his kind, efficient, polite, and willing help,” she wrote.

D. Villarin
Police
During patrol, Officer D. Villarin noticed a truck and camper on the shoulder of the 610 Loop. When he pulled over, he learned that Bill Moye’s truck had stalled and that he’d called a wrecker.

When the wrecker came, it couldn’t haul the camper, so Villarin called for another tow truck. Then he waited with Moye for several hours for that truck to show up.

During the wait, Villarin cleared a seat in his cruiser for Moye and his dog and gave the dog some water.

“Thank you Officer Villarin for an outstanding job,” Moye wrote. “You went above and beyond the call of duty making phone calls, offering a cool place to sit and water.

“What a great city we live in with such generous officers to watch over us.”

J.B. Fenwick, M.D. Junco
Police
Officers J.B. Fenwick and M.D. Junco helped George Purvis fix his bike, which he’d been struggling with for more than an hour.

“Not only did they solve my problem, they did so with generosity, friendliness, and consummate professionalism that you don’t always find,” Purvis wrote. “Officers Fenwick and Junco are role models for all public service personnel.”

Michael Deutsch
Police
While navigating traffic from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo near Memorial Park, Doug and Irina Wayland ran over something that burst a rear tire. As soon as they pulled their car over to the side of the road, Officer Michael Deutsch pulled over to help.

As Deutsh changed the back tire, he discovered the front tire was going flat, too. The Waylands had already called a wrecker, and Deutsch stayed with them while they waited.

Then he gave them a ride home.

“He not only helped and protected us, but he also went a step beyond,” the Waylands wrote. “I have lived in areas outside Houston where this type of professionalism, courtesy and compassion would not have carried through to protecting, assisting and changing a tire – not to mention providing transportation home.”

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