Yesterday afternoon, a body was discovered next to the train tracks near Maxwell and Fares Avenue. He was Edward Allen Rayborn, a homeless man, who's death is being attributed to the extreme heat we have been experiencing this summer. 

Now having dealt with the death of a high school friend of mine, I know that there is always a back story that you don't usually hear in the media. Its unfortunate, but at a time when staff budgets and deadlines are tight in newsrooms across the country, some details are overlooked.

One item mentioned about Rayborn's death was that the Evansville Police department had contact with him, just a few days before his death. Not many details were given and it could be assumed that it was probably something bad.

However a post on the EPD's Facebook page elaborated on why officers stopped the man on July 7th. According to the post:

Officers Kurt Pritchett and Jerry Tooley spent several minutes with the person and talked to him about the heat and ways to stay safe. They did not stop at just giving some advice. They continued to talk to him about his situation. When the officers learned he was homeless and had no money, they gave him some money for food and also gave him a bottle of water.

Of course that detail was overlooked in the news, and I feel that is a shame. However there are a lot of things that our local officers do for people in need, and it goes unreported each day. People who commented on the post mentioned incidences where officers gave gas money to people who were stranded, while visiting our city. The post even mentions how police have replaced stolen bikes for children.

Here at the station we have seen a major way that our local police give back to the community in the form of 911 Gives Hope. We do a huge toy drive every winter with them, that provides toys to children who are in the hospital during the holidays. They also host the 'Guns and Hoses' boxing match, with the Evansville Fire department, to raise funds for the charity.

Sometimes it seems that there is a lot of negative news out there. So lets give thanks where its due. These men and women do a dangerous and often thankless job, lets try to turn that around every once in awhile.

In the spirit of 'paying it forward', what's the coolest act of kindness you have seen recently?

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