LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – A Liberty County deputy’s kindness and compassion is being credited with helping save a man’s life.
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office says it happened on April 16 when Deputy Austin Whisman was headed home from an extra job.
Recommended Videos
As he was driving, Whisman noticed another vehicle driving erratically on the road. Whisman conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle.
Whisman noticed the driver and only occupant of the vehicle, a man, was extremely emotional and appeared to be in distressed. Whisman asked the man if he was ok.
The sheriff’s office says the man began speaking to Whisman, explaining that he had just retired from the military after serving for 22 years. He told Whisman that his wife of 19 years had just left him and that he was having a very bad night to the point that he was planning on taking his own life when he got home.
Whisman sat on the side of the road and spoke to the man for a few minutes to help him take a different path.
By the end of the conversation, the sheriff’s office said the man looked at Whisman and told him that he was his, “saving angel.” The man also told Whisman that had it not been for his kindness and compassion of the situation that he was in, that he would have gone home and carried out his plans of ending his life.
The next morning, the sheriff’s office said Whisman was informed by his Lieutenant that the man had come by and dropped off a gift and a note for him.
The gift was an official US Naval True North Compass that was presented to the man at his last post as Chief.
The note reads as follows:
Austin,
Sometimes when we’re fighting demons, God sends us help. I was in a hurry to complete a mission, but you stopped me and lent a kind ear.
You treated me with compassion, dignity, and respect.
PoPo get a bad rap these days… but you’re the kind we need!
Please accept this coin as a small token of gratitude.