Police officers often receive a bad rap, but I know that there are still countless members of the police force who go above and beyond to help us when we’re in need. This story is about just one of them.
Kori Malenfant and her parents found themselves stuck at the train station in Boston in the middle of winter, after Kori had endured brain surgery.
Kori was suffering from a Chiari malformation, which occurs when there is an opening in the skull and a part of the brain starts to leak through into your spinal canal.
Just 4 days after her tough surgery, Kori were travelling home from New York to Protland, Maine.
Unfortunately, their train from New York ran late and they missed their connection in Boston by just minutes.
It was freezing cold and the middle of the night, so Kori’s parents went to a nearby police officer to see if they could store their bags somewhere safe while they found a warm place to wait.
What he did instead left them stunned.
Kori was on her way home after surgery when she found herself stranded, in less than desirable conditions.
“Because of the recent inclement weather and train cancellations, our Amtrak train trip back from the Presbyterian Hospital in New York was longer than expected, which caused us to arrive in Boston too late to get on the next train,” Kori writes in her Facebook post.
“Unfortunately, this train wasn’t leaving the station for another 2 1/2 hours. The train station was very cold, with no place to leave our luggage, and no option for comfortable seating/support for my neck.”
Feeling desperate, Kori’s mom approached two on duty police officers to ask if they could store their luggage somewhere at the train station.
Their plan was to take a taxi to a warmer place to wait for their train.
“The officers quickly assured Mom that they would help us by contacting their captain to see what he could do. Shortly after, the Boston police captain came to us and asked us to follow him,” Kori explains.
That police captain was Captain Kelly J. McCormick, who led the family to his unmarked SUV with the words: “OK guys, follow me. We’re taking a little ride.”
At first, the family thought he was going to drive them around to keep warm, and they were very grateful for his generous actions. But they soon realized that he was driving further and further north.
“Mom asked where we were going, and he laughed and said he was kidnapping us and that it was perfectly legal. We soon realized he was driving us all the way to Portland, back to our car,” Kori says.
“He said there was no way he was going to allow me to sit in the cold so soon after surgery and that it was his pleasure to drive us.”
The family were shocked and emotional over Captain McCormick’s heartwarming gesture, but they soon discovered that it’s not an unusual move for the kind hearted police officer.
They traded stories, and the family soon learned that he was one of the main commanders in charge during the Boston Marathon bombing.
Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross wasn’t surprised by McCormick’s generosity. He said that this kind of thing just shows who McCormick is.
“That’s not a one-time thing with Captain McCormick,” Gross said.
“He’s always giving. He’s a very free-spirited and giving individual.
“He has a great soul… The mayor’s allowed us to put captains in each of our 11 districts that do get it, that do go above and beyond,” he continued.
Kori and her family agree.
“He is a humble, inspiring, kind man,” Kori says.
“Thank you, Captain Kelley McCormick. May God richly bless and protect you as you have blessed and protected so many others.”
Help us share this story to honor Captain McCormick’s selfless and heartwarming good deed!
