Congratulations to Officer Thomas Lambert
On the evening of January 24th, officers were called to Cypress St. The nature of the call was that a house had experienced some damage to the heating and water systems the previous day. The house was deemed to be unsafe to inhabit, and the family was able to secure a hotel room for the evening. The problem that ensued was that the following day the problems were not resolved, and after exhausting their resources, the family had no place to stay.
Sergeant Marino, Officer Thomas Lambert, and Officer Priscila Ribeiro were left with no other recourse except to bring the family to the Station and hope we could make some kind of arrangements.
A short time later, Officer Lambert stated, “We’re all set. I found a place. “Thinking the obvious, that he found a shelter, we gave no more thought to the matter. It was not until just before the end of the shift we learned that Officer Lambert’s meaning of “We’re all set” was that he personally secured a room for this family. He used his own money, and his military discount, to get a double room at the La Quinta Inn.
The family of five, which included a seven-year-old child, were able to spend the evening warm and safe with access to water and facilities. (The weather was not exactly pleasant.)
The selfless action of Officer Lambert is worthy of recognition. 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.
It is our belief that this was a perfect example of what we are all about. Sometimes it’s not always about arresting the bad guy. Every once in a while, all it takes is a little compassion and human kindness. It is with that, that we congratulate Officer Thomas Lambert for the Department’s Beyond The Call Of Duty Award.