Family was leaving empty-handed after dad's card declined at grocery store — until cop's 'extraordinary act' saved the day

The family was surprised when the cop suddenly approached them.

PUBLISHED 6 HOURS AGO

(L) Man worried while paying for groceries at supermarket. (R) Officer on duty making observation. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) zamrznutitonovi; (R) kali 9)

It’s not every day that we get the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, let alone an entire family. So when we get the chance, we should grab it most generously. A Cleveland police officer, Mike Kelly, was on duty at Walmart when he found ‘the opportunity’ to turn the life around of a family, per Local 3 News. The officer noticed a family having trouble with their payment at the checkout counter and went over to see what the issue was. When he learned of the problem, he came up with a special solution that saved the day and had people applauding him.

Girl excitedly asking her father to purchase something. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by shironosov)

Having been a school resource officer, Kelly had a special place in his heart for kids. So when he approached the counter and saw that there was a payment issue, he didn’t hesitate to practice kindness. He spotted a little girl looking up at her dad with hope. “And I’m looking down at the little girl and the little girl’s looking up to her dad and I look in the thing and it’s just Ramen noodles. I don’t know if it’s a financial thing or if it’s just the card just didn’t work,” the officer recalled. Instantly, his heart was moved to help. “I felt God telling me to just go help him. We’re getting extra money to be there,” he remarked.

Officer in the market of the city of La Laguna on the island of Tenerife. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Salvador Aznar)

Kelly was pushed to ask himself, “Are these people going to go hungry when I’m just sitting here making a little extra money for myself?” He then decided to go ahead and help with the payment. The generous officer purchased $80 worth of groceries for the family. The officer thoughtfully shared another insight. “We see stuff that we like to forget when some kids are really hungry, some kids live in bad situations and it’s hard to leave at work sometimes,” said Kelly. Having worked with kids earlier, he knew that many go hungry and a little help can make a big difference.

Man trying to pay with credit card at checkout counter in supermarket. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Alex Liew)

He added that many children rely on the school’s free meals, and during summer breaks, it’s upsetting to see their circumstances. “The cool thing about our department is they let us work patrol whenever we’re not in school, so I see these kids and everything and I know which ones aren’t eating,” the officer mentioned. He passes out free breakfast often, but there’s only so much one person can do. The officer hopes that with his act of paying for the family’s groceries, others too, will reach out in kindness. “Look for somebody to help, there’s someone around all the time to help. Maybe just food, but maybe something else, maybe just go up and talk to them,” Kelly suggested.

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The Cleveland Police Department reposted a note of praise shared on Facebook for Kelly. It read, “Just witnessed another extraordinary act by our men in uniform. A police officer paid for the groceries of a customer here at Walmart. The best part, the customer told the police officer: ‘God bless you,’ and the police officer responded, ‘I am already blessed. I love you.’” The department added, “It is guaranteed that Kelly wouldn’t want the credit from this, but it’s these random acts of kindness that inspire us all to be kind to others!”