Panicked new mom called 911 at 3 AM it immediately made the officer responding to her call rush to nearby store
Being unable to feed their babies on time can push any mother into emotional distress. If one has an infant in their house, it is important to keep an emergency stock of baby formulas and supplies. According to USA Today, a mother from Miami found herself in despair after her breastmilk ran dry and she had no baby formula at her home for her infant. Triggered with anxiety, she ended up dialing the Miami Township Police and Corporal Hunter Willoughby responded to her call.
The incident took place in June 2024 when the police department got a call from a frantic mother who wasn't able to breastfeed her one-week-old baby. Willoughby arrived at a nearby supermarket called Meijer and began shining his light inside the closed shop at 3 a.m. He repeatedly knocked at the door as well. The bodycam attached to Willoughby recorded some essential footage from the day and the officer's interaction with a supermarket employee at Meijer. An older lady appeared at the store's front door and opened it wide for the officer when he disclosed his reason for visiting at the late hour.
“There is a mom,” the officer told the store employee in the footage. “She said her milk dried up and she couldn’t find anywhere to buy formula. Is there any way anybody in here who can turn on a cash register? I’ll buy it for her and take it to her.” Willoughby browsed through the shelf that had several brands of infant formulas and he tried to figure out his purchase. "What the heck's the difference?" he asked himself before grabbing a can of Similac baby formula. The employee at the store who opened the doors for Willoughby approached to help him.
She asked if the nursing mother needed something else along with the formula. Willoughby took up on her suggestion and decided to grab a feeding bottle as well. The store employee helped the officer pick a set of bottles as they walked over to the cash register. Finishing his purchase, Willoughby left to help out the mother in need. “He refused to accept any payment for the formula or bottles,” Chief Mike Mills wrote in praise of Willoughby, on the Facebook page Miami Township Police, per the news outlet. “You don't often hear about everything a police officer does in the course of their shift but I do and this is an example of the Miami Township Way.”
The Facebook page also shared the entire bodycam footage from Willoughby's perspective as the comment section filled up with people lauding the officer. Amanda Marie wrote, "Also, thank you Meijer team for allowing this officer to come in and buy something after hours! You aren't going unnoticed either. It takes a village. I wish more people would see this." Tara Frank added, "Does this mother need any additional resources that we can help with? I am happy to drop off a gift card to the station if there is a way to get it to her. Strong work from this Mom for reaching out for help in a time of need. Parenting is hard."
Unsurprisingly enough, that wasn't the first time Willoughby had played a samaritan while working with the police department since 2017. In a Facebook post from 2021, the officer was recognized by the community for helping two people treat their drug addiction after arresting them. “Jennifer and David stopped by to show their appreciation for Officer Hunter Willoughby,” the department wrote at the time alongside a picture of the officer posing with a young man and a woman. “They were addicted to opiates when Hunter arrested them in 2019, pushing them towards treatment. They both made it clear that they would not be alive if it wasn’t for Officer Willoughby.”