A simple photograph is all it takes.

We are in the mood to see and hear something good about police officers. Yes, they make mistakes. When they do, they usually get on the news. Then they get raked over the coals on Facebook and everywhere else people gather to complain.

Many of us are tired of hearing about it, though. We know that these underpaid, under-appreciated officers put up with a lot. They go places we don’t want to go. They deal with people we don’t want to get near.

Nicholas Martin is the man who took the photo you see above. Nicholas, 27, works for Groome Transportation in East Ridge, and was on the road around lunchtime December 8. (Nicholas was stopped at a red light, so he was not breaking any laws.) He first saw the lady and her dog. Then he saw the East Ridge police car pull up, lights flashing. Candidly, Nicholas admits he thought the officer might be stopping to harass the woman. Then he saw it. “I misjudged the officer,” he said. “When he emerged from his vehicle he had a bag of dog food, and food for (the woman) in his hand. Her smile was heartwarming.”

Nicholas was touched by the good deed, so he shared the photo on Facebook. His friends shared it with their friends, and within a few hours, several thousand people had seen it.

Some of my friends asked me to share it as well, but there was one thing missing: the rest of the story. Who is this officer? I had to find out.

He is Sgt. Scott Butcher, who joined the East Ridge Police Department in 2002. I asked if I could tell the world his name, and exactly what he was doing when the photo was snapped. “Sure,” he said. “But please emphasize this is something my fellow officers do every day. I didn’t know anyone was taking a picture. But I didn’t do anything my fellow officers don’t do every day of the year.”

Here’s what happened, in Sgt. Butcher’s words: “I saw a woman on the side of the road with her dog. I asked her if she needed help, and she said no, she was just hoping to get a ride. She said she had friends in Georgia, and she was trying to get to their place. I asked her if she was hungry, and she said no, but her dog was. I told her if she’d stay there a few minutes, I’d go get some dog food. So I did, and I got a little something for her too, and dropped it off. I guess that’s when the guy took the picture. She had a great disposition, and when I left, she thanked me and said, ‘You have a Merry Christmas.'”

Sgt. Butcher said, “I’m not trying to get some recognition for me. I’m glad to shine the light on my department, though. I can’t tell you how many times our officers have paid for motel rooms for people to stay in overnight, or they’ve bought groceries, or diapers, or meals. We don’t talk about it, but we see things most people don’t see. I don’t even tell my wife, until sometime she’ll wonder where the money went,” he said with a laugh.

Nicholas Martin says he can’t believe the number of people who have seen his photograph, but he’s glad it has spread. He said, “We must acknowledge the good as much as the bad. Our country has fallen, but we are not broken. We will get through this rough time. We have good police officers. The man I saw today was an angel to someone in need. That was God’s work.”

Sgt. Butcher’s supervisor, Chief J.R. Reed said, “This doesn’t surprise me a bit. Scott’s a great officer, but this is not uncommon, and not just in our department. We try to help people out as much as we can. I’m glad the public is hearing something good about police officers. They’ve heard enough of the other stuff.”

The great basketball coach John Wooden was quoted as saying, ““The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” Sgt. Scott Butcher did his good deed in full public view, but he didn’t know it would be seen by thousands of people. To put it in news terms, he was caught in the act. He said, “Yes, that’s me in the picture, but it could have been any other officer. And that lady could have been any number of people who is close to being homeless. I hope people will remember our officers, and these folks on the street who just need some help to get through the day.”

Nicholas Martin told me, “I caught a cop being a hero.” Thank you Nicholas. You captured a moment in time, that deserves to be seen and shared.

To read my recent stories about heroic local police officers Eddie Mansell and Nathan Brooks, click here, and click here. Feel free to share!