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BOONVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Three Indiana police officers who bought a homeless man a bus ticket to Virginia say "it was the right thing to do" after he told them he was trying to get home for the holidays.
Warrick County Sheriff's deputies Jim Altmeyer and Adam Silva and State Master Trooper John Puskas bought the ticket for 49-year-old Jeff Stanley this week after he told them he had no money but wanted to get home.
Puskas said after Stanley told them he had been walking through southwestern Indiana while trying to get home in time for the holidays, "the three of us determined it was the right thing to do" to pool their money and buy the ticket, which he said cost about $180.
"We all pitched in our resources and got him the bus ticket. Deputy Silva, on the way to the bus station, also bought him breakfast," Puskas told the Evansville Courier & Press (http://bit.ly/1wmBcCd ).
Puskas said the officers viewed their act as a fulfillment of their pledge to protect and serve.
Stanley's father, 77-year-old Wendell Stanley of the Richmond, Virginia, area, said it's been two years since he's seen his son.
"I hope he stays longer than just the holidays," he said.
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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com
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