While waiting in line at a Chicago-area McDonald’s, a man took notice of the mother in front of him who had two children with her. As he looked a little closer, he was left in absolute shock at what he saw and quickly snapped a photo without her knowing.
Without realizing what he was walking into when he decided to grab a burger for lunch, the man got far more than he expected when he was one of the only people in the restaurant that afternoon, along with a mother and her two kids. Nothing seemed strange about the scene until he watched a little longer and found out what had happened moments before she came into the restaurant.
The unnamed man saw a Hayward police officer standing nearby the woman, also watching her as she ordered, but for a different reason than the photo-taking witness. The cop had brought the family there after stopping her for having expired tags on her car. When the officer went to her window during the traffic stop, he saw something else inside and had just one question for her unrelated to the ticket.
According to Fox 32, Officer Jonathan Mcleod said that not only were the woman’s tags expired, but she was driving on a suspended license, which she immediately admitted after rolling her window down for the officer. Considering all that was stacked against her, the cop was likely the last person she wanted to see that day since he had every reason to tow her car. However, as soon as he started talking to her, he could tell that the family was more or less living out of their vehicle between homeless shelters.
He asked her when was the last time she and her kids ate and was told it had been more than a day. Rather than issuing a ticket or towing her car, Mcleod signaled for her to follow him to McDonald’s so he could get them food. As they stood in line deciding on what to order, another customer who was watching the mother with the cop was shocked at the officer’s good deed. Not wanting to embarrass anyone, the man stepped back and took a picture of the touching scene then approach Mcleod separately and asked if he could split the bill with him.
Officer Jonathan Mcleod
The officer declined the guy’s generosity and paid for the total himself, saying it was an honor for him to do this for someone else. Without realizing that the man had taken a picture, Mcleod wasn’t expecting any attention for his kindness but found himself on the receiving end of praise after the man reported what he saw to Hayward police.
This officer could have ticketed the woman and even have her car towed, but he decided that wasn’t going to help the situation for her and her kids. This was not just their vehicle, it was all her family had. Mcleod’s actions proved that cops aren’t out there hoping to write tickets any chance they can get — they simply want to help.
