FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — Two Fayetteville police officers and a store clerk are being lauded as “Neighborhood Heroes” for going out of their way to help a special-needs resident buy a video game he couldn’t afford.
Earlier this week, Corporal Matthew Townsend and Officer Brandon Jones were called to Game Stop on Joyce Boulevard for a report of a missing person, according to a post on the Fayetteville Police Department’s Facebook page:
“Neighborhood heroes are all around us, and today we salute the worker at Game Stop who went above and beyond to help his fellow neighbor and police officer.”
The missing person was a mentally handicapped man with the mental capacity of a young child. He had gotten upset and walked out, according to police.
When Townsend and Jones arrived, the man just returned, but police found he was very upset because he only had $13 and couldn’t afford the $15 Batman game he wanted.
Townsend and Jones were able to calm the man down and requested the clerk charge him $13. The officers said they would pay the difference after the man left. The clerk agreed and only charged the man $12 for the game.
Afterwards, the officers returned to pay for the rest of the game, but the clerk refused and said he’d taken care of the rest.
Neither the clerk or the store was able to be reached for comment.
Corporal Tiffney Lindley, a spokeswoman for Fayetteville police, said the clerk deserved most of the credit, adding that the department is thankful for the community support.
“We appreciate all of our citizens for their support and for helping out where and when they can,” Lindley said. “Wish we could put them all on our Facebook!”
