By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Two Alabaster police officers are receiving accolades from Alabaster Police Department leaders and city officials for going “above and beyond” in helping a homeless man traveling through the city on Jan. 21.

A man arrived at the Alabaster Police Department off U.S. 31 at about midday on Jan. 21 asking for a ride to the Calera Police Department to continue his trek southward to Florida.

Alabaster police officers Josh White and Tim Crocker met with the man and discovered the man was homeless, traveling with “nothing but the clothes on his back and the pajama pants he was wearing,” according to Alabaster Deputy Police Chief Jeff Anthony.

The two officers then met with the owners of the local Chubb’s Grub Station restaurant, who offered the man free meals. The officers then visited America’s Thrift Store in Alabaster and obtained waterproof boots, a few changes of clothes and a couple of jackets before traveling to Dollar General to stock up on non-perishable snack items, such as crackers and Vienna sausages to help the man while he is traveling.

Officers then contacted Alabaster First United Methodist Church, which procured a two-night stay at Shelby Motor Lodge for the man since temperatures were forecast to be frigid for multiple days.

“They then gave him money out of their pockets to help him out,” Anthony wrote in an email. “They transported him to the hotel and made sure he was in a room.”

Anthony said the two officers’ actions are not uncommon in the city’s police department. About three years ago, Crocker and officer Matt Davis helped to repair a truck for a veteran who was traveling to visit his dying father.

“You world be truly surprised at the acts of our officers on a regular basis that are very similar to these events,” Anthony wrote. “It is not uncommon for them to display great compassion and dedication to helping others, even at their own expense and never say a word.

“PD admin usually does not know about it either because they do not do it for recognition, but because it is the right thing to do,” Anthony wrote.

Alabaster City Manager George Henry praised the officers and the “cultural climate” Police Chief Curtis Rigney and his executive team have created in the department.

“It’s not about them being recognized, they are internally motivated to simply go above and beyond,” Henry said.