Michigan cop pays for and pumps gas for elderly woman, viral photo shows
ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WJBK) - A woman down on her luck just needed a little bit of gas when she stopped in to the Citgo in St. Clair Shores. She gave the clerk $3 and then went out to pump her car.
Dolores Marotta gave the clerk $3 in change then went to pump. But she was in for a surprise: an officer followed her to her car.
"(I said) I'm gonna help you. I had her sit in her car," St. Clair Shores Police Officer Todd Bing said.
With Bing pumping and Marotta sitting, she saw it go past $3 and knew something was up.
"As he was pumping the gas I said he's pumping too much I only paid the man 3 dollars," she said.
Officer Bing was in the gas station when she paid and realized she was in need of help, so he decided to pitch in $20.
"We have to take care of those who are most vulnerable," Bing said.
But this kind act by this officer did not go unnoticed by manager Seth Kazz.
"Cops get labeled as bad people, this just shows what kind of people they are and what they do for the community," Kazz said. "I ended up taking a picture and I posted it on my Facebook and it blew up after that."
Marotta says she fell on hard times after her husband passed away in 2015. After hearing her story, the gas station manager decided to create a GoFundMe account to help. It's raised more than $3,600.
"She's gonna buy groceries with it. She's gonna go get gas," Kazz said.
Marotta says she's overwhelmed by the generosity that all started with one good deed.