DeKalb police officer earns good Samaritan badge

DeKALB – Officer Jeff Winters said he was running through the aisles of Walmart, refusing to let the subject get away.

Just south on Sycamore Road, under a tree at Kishwaukee Country Club, was the guy the DeKalb police officer was running after: a homeless man who hadn’t eaten in a while, and who was desperate for respite June 13, which would be a sweltering day.

Winters already had brought the man some breakfast sandwiches, danishes and bottles of water.

“I figured that would help him out for a while, at least for the day, and it was getting hot out,” he said.

A business had called that morning, concerned about a man sleeping under the tunnel near Bea’s Wok N Roll. Winters said he found him and tried to get to know him – where he’d come from, where he was going. He observed his condition and the condition of the grocery bags he was carrying his few belongings in.

Winters said the man told him he was hoping to find a job and scratch together enough money for a duffel bag, so Winters made a dash for Walmart.

“I’m running, because I don’t want him to disappear,” he said. “They’ll say they’re going to one spot, and then they don’t. I’m going up to a lady at Walmart asking, ‘Where are the duffel bags? Where are the travel pillows?’ I was trying to think of what else I could grab.”

He returned with a duffel bag stuffed with travel pillows and bug spray.

"I showed him the bag, and the pillows, and the stuff inside of it, and he got a big smile on his face and said, 'You didn't have to do that,' " he said.
" 'God gave me a good job to provide for my family. I have plenty, and it's my job to share it with you.' I would hope someone would do it for me, if I was in their shoes."

Winters, who’s going on 23 years with the DeKalb force, said it’s actually commonplace to play the role of good Samaritan, and he knows other guys in the department have done such good deeds, too.

He credits his upbringing in Crystal Lake, where his parents, Terrence and Barbara, spent much of their time helping out their parents, in-laws, distant relatives and anyone else who needed a hand.

“I kind of evolved from there,” he said.

Winters said he plans to buy some mini-tents and keep them in his locker, for such scenarios going forward. A little shelter or a bite to eat can go a long way for someone in need.

“What a lot of folks don’t realize is these people don’t have anybody, and I’d say the majority of homeless people I come across deal with issues and substance abuse, which is a demon in and of itself,” Winters said.

He said he feels he’s been successful in instilling an others-first mentality in his kids, and he’s confounded as to why schools have to build community service into their requirements.

“That ruins the meaning behind it,” he said. “You do it from the heart.”