First Responders Spotlight: Hometown officer’s act of kindness

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Our story takes us to Irondequoit and one officer’s incredible act of kindness for a mother in need.

Officer Matthew Barrett six-year veteran of IPD. As part of First Platoon, he works overnights.

During that shift, Barrett and his fellow officers kept seeing this one car that stood out multiple times a week. It was a mom behind the wheel with her adult son in the passenger seat.

“It was going from parking lot to parking lot,” Barrett explained.  “We would see her driving sometimes with her lights off so we would stop her and talk to her– come to find out they had been homeless for a little while.”

His platoon essentially took this mother in, keeping a close eye on where she was at night and what they needed. Then came the holidays.

“It was Thanksgiving and I remember the weather was going to be very cold out,” Barrett said.  “I found her in a parking lot at Planet Fitness and she thought I was going to kick her out.”

The officer asked if she had plans for the holiday. The mother was going to church to get food but she and her son didn’t have anywhere to sleep.

“I went to get her a hotel room for a couple nights,” Barrett added.

This is where Chaplain Randy Henderson comes in. He’s part of a group of faith leaders that works with police whether at crime scenes or on patrol.

“I was actually doing overnight rides with one of the other officers,” Henerson said. “Officer Barrett asked me if my church helped out people—I said yeah what’s the situation?”

They worked together to eventually find this mother and son an apartment so she could focus on some job opportunities. Their connection remains strong to this day.

“It’s funny because now she’s always concerned about me and my safety,” Barrett added. “She’s texting me all the time whenever something happens making sure I’m OK.”

Here’s a fun fact about Barrett: He was once a financial advisor before he got into law enforcement.

It’s a family business. His dad was an officer and now he’s doing the same in his hometown.

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