Despite the criticism they receive, our police officers are protecting residents in such a beautiful way.
At a residence near McDowell Road and 64th Avenue in Phoenix, an officer was observed breaking through a side gate on Saturday in order to save a family of six as their house burned down all around them.
Around 7 p.m, Ruby Johnson Smith, the 80-year-old grandmother, was dozing off on a chair in the living room when the fire started, “I don’t know what happened,” said Smith. “I don’t know where it started from or how it started. You can see I’m shaking in my boots right now, but it’s really starting to register now,” said Smith.
Smith feared that her daughter and her four grandchildren would be trapped. But those fears were washed away after neighbors and a couple of Phoenix police officers jumped into action, lifting the kids over a backyard wall.
“I guess my daughter must have been yelling, ‘Fire. Fire!’ So he got back there and helped them over the fence,” said Smith. “I appreciate them so much. There’s a crown for them that God is going to crown them for the help they did for us.”
While responding to a report at an apartment building across the street, the police noticed smoke and flames emanating from the house. Witness to the incident, neighbor Josie Aragon was home when the fire broke out and saw the officers get Smith and her family to safety.
“Oh, thank God, that’s all I kept telling her,” said Aragon. “You know what, Ruby, you’re very lucky your kids are safe, and everybody is safe. Material things can be replaced.”
“I just can’t thank them enough,” said Smith. “So thankful for police officers, the fire department, Red Cross, and all the neighbors.”
