Wayne officer helps good Samaritan who got flat tire helping a friend

(FOX 2) - A woman from Wayne was trying to get her friend and three children to a women's shelter when her tire blew out. That's when a City of Wayne police officer stepped in and decided to go the extra mile. 

"I have a 2-and-a-half-year-old and there was a 1-year-old baby in the car," said Wayne Officer Matthew Whalen. "And nobody asked to be in that situation. But, when you see kids, you have to do more."

Whalen said he really wanted to help the driver of the vehicle, Gabriel Brown, because she was doing a good deed. 

"She was driving down the road and saw her friend with three children, all their belongings and they were walking down Michigan Avenue and she stopped to help them," said Whalen. 

"He said because I was helping my friend, he would help me," said Brown. 

After noticing the blown tires, Whalen took Brown's car to two repair shops and covered the cost out of his own pocket. 

"She was ecstatic and she had never had that kind of interaction with a police before," Whalen said. 

"I never knew police were like this because of all my experiences had been bad," Brown said. 

Brown said this changes her perspectives on officers. 

"He's changing my perspective. Bit by bit." She said. 

Officer Whalen didn't stop with the car repairs, he had to get this family somewhere to stay. 

"We looked up shelters and probably called about nine of them," Whalen said. "We finally found one in Detroit that had one bunk bed available." 

Whalen didn't really want to take credit for the good deed. He was just glad that he was able to bring the family some comfort. 

"I just wanted them to be safe and have the best holiday they can," he said. 

Whalen wants to give thanks to the following businesses and people who also helped with this situation: Howard's Towing in Wayne, Tire Stop in Wayne, Royal Auto Care of Westland, and Fed Ex driver Aaron Sterling.