By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — A police officer’s random act of kindness went viral after a witness shared the story on Facebook.
Rees Williams, a project manager for Ford Motor Co. was eating at Capri Italian Bakery, 4832 Greenfield Road, Sept.11 when he observed a young man begging in front of the bakery.
While inside, Williams saw Officer Raed Essa speaking to the young man and then entering the bakery to purchase him a meal.
Williams took the time to post about the officer’s actions on his Facebook page along with a photo.
The post had 8,002 shares and 189 likes by Sept. 16.
“You could absolutely tell that this officer wanted nothing but the best for this gentleman,” Williams wrote. “I wanted to share this due to the amount of negativity towards police these days.”
Williams went on to praise the officer.
“These officers put their lives at risk everyday to protect us. I wish nothing but the best for this officer as I witnessed something truly amazing today at lunch that you don’t see very often.”
“I’ve known Essa for a long time and I’m not surprised by his kind gesture,” Police Chief Ronald Haddad said. “It’s hard to measure that level of kindness, but people will remember his kindness the next time they think about police officers.”
Essa worked 20 years in the Detroit Police Department before joining Dearborn less than a year ago.
To view the post, go to www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153664255484359&set=a.10150328887494359.395716.556819358&type=1&theater
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])