Cop Answers Call to Kindness, Replaces Blind Man's Stolen Phone

A blind man recently robbed of his iPhone in Joliet wasn't without one for long, thanks to a south suburban police officer.

Wishing to be known only as "Matt," the officer was frustrated when he read Gary Jones' story on Patch.

"This guy wakes up every single day without the gift of vision," Matt said, "yet he still goes out, and tries to be a good person. And someone does this to him."

Jones, 49, told Patch he was waiting at the Joliet Union Station to catch a train into Chicago when a man started talking to him. He was listening to music, and as the train pulled into the station and drowned out the music on his phone, the man took off with it. Jones said he relies on his iPhone to help him throughout the day, especially Siri, the iPhone's virtual assistant who can be summoned with a push of a button or a voice command.

>>Read more: Blind Joliet Man's iPhone Stolen While He Waited for Train

“I got into a conversation with someone hanging around who was also going to Chicago. There was nothing out of the ordinary,” Jones said. “I thought he was going to help me on to the train and he helped himself to my iPhone.”

Matt wasn't the only one who felt compelled to help. Others thought of starting a GoFundMe to help replace the man's phone.

"Had this guy stopped and put himself in Gary’s shoes for a millisecond, he probably wouldn’t have done what he did," Matt said. "But he didn’t. He took advantage."

An iPhone, which for so many is a luxury, is a necessity for Jones. He even told the person who stole it about how much he relies on Siri.

The mother----- knows it ... That’s one thing I learned. Don’t talk to strangers.

—Gary Jones

After speaking with Jones, Matt realized he and his wife had a nearly "mint condition" iPhone 5S — exactly the model Jones lost — tucked away in a drawer, not being used. He charged the phone, cleared it out, and sent it off to Jones overnight.

Befriending a stranger might have gotten Jones burned the previous week, but this time, it was one good man connecting with another.

"He was all excited because he was getting Siri set up," Matt said. "You could tell that he’s doing these things by just listening to the voice prompts that the iPhone gives him — things we didn't even know the iPhone could do, because we don't need them.

"He said that the phone was the exact phone that he used to have, it even has the same case that his used to have."

Matt said he plans to check in with Jones every once in a while, "just to see how he's doing."

"Everything I’ve read about him, he’s a fantastic guy," he said. "You wouldn’t think that he has a disability by the way that he lives his life."

Matt takes his commitment to helping people seriously, so it felt natural to help Jones any way he could.

"You take this oath to serve and protect, and I’ve always lived it as that just doesn’t happen only when you’re on duty," he said.

"When you have a situation like that, it breaks your heart to see that somebody would take advantage of someone, someone who struggles every day," Matt said. "I would love the opportunity to put handcuffs on the guy who took his phone.

"But I’m confident karma will come back around."

Photo via Shutterstock