SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WHDH) - A Somerville police officer went above and beyond the call of duty when he paid for a hotel room for a family who had been displaced from their home in late January.
Officers responding to Cypress Street the evening of Jan. 24 for a house that had experienced some damage to the heating and water systems the day before met with a family of five who were able to secure a hotel room for the night, police said.
The following day, the problems had not been resolved and the family, which included a 7-year-old child, had no place to stay after exhausting their resources.
Members of the police department brought the family back to the station in hopes of making some kind of arrangements.
A short time later, Officer Thomas Lambert told his fellow officers, “We’re all set. I found a place.”
The rest of the department assumed that Thomas had found a shelter and did not question him further.
Towards the end of Lambert’s shift, they learned that Lambert had purchased a hotel room at the La Quinta Inn, using his own money and military discount.
“The selfless action of Officer Lambert is worthy of recognition,” the police department wrote in a statement. “He outright refused any efforts from us, Sergeant Marino, or Officer Ribeiro to help with the cost, alluding only to the fact that he’d ‘been there’ and only hoped someone would watch out for his family should the situation be reversed.”
Lambert received the department’s Beyond The Call Of Duty Award for his selfless action.
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