Note: we are republishing this story in light of recent reports across the country that suggest more and more Americans are having positive interactions with police officers despite changing attitudes about police departments and wider conversation about police reform.
When a Tennessee police officer found out the woman in front of him covered his breakfast at a fast food drive-thru, he decided to pay her back in his own way.
Monroe County Deputy Cody Yates went to a Hardee's drive-thru in the morning when the generous act occurred, reports WVLT.
“Whoever pulls up behind me, just pay for his breakfast," Angel Brooks told the drive-thru worker.
"We've been so blessed with people helping us out."
“Being in a small town, I started asking around and found out who she was,” said Yates.
Yates tracked down Brooks on Facebook and discovered her husband, Jeff, is fighting terminal pancreatic cancer and her daughter, Megan, has cerebral palsy.
“It made me realize that about everybody that you come in contact with is worrying about all the small things in life,” Yates said. “That really don't hold a candle to what some people are dealing with."
He asked his fellow officers to donate to Brooks and collected $520 within an hour. Yates even got a few churches in the area to start collecting donations, according to KY3.
"It's very overwhelming. I got teary eyed. I'm not going to lie,” said Jeff Brooks.
“I broke down. I cried. I'm a big man but I've got a big heart,” Yates said.
“It really has touched me,” Angel Brooks said.
The three of them have formed a connection and Yates is planning to take Jeff Brooks fishing soon.