Police officer escorts 84-year-old man to get his first COVID-19 shot
maylen
OAK PARK, Ill. (WGN-TV) — An Illinois officer went out of her way Thursday to make sure a senior could get his first COVID-19 vaccine shot.
Gary Barnes, 84, lives in officer Traccye Love’s beat that she patrols in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park.
He was a regular at her monthly community policing meetings.
When COVID-19 hit, she was able to help him attend the meetings virtually and during the pandemic they grew even closer.
So, Love made it her mission to check in with him on duty or off.
On Thursday, she escorted him from his home to the Oak Park vaccination location, where he got the first of two COVID-19 vaccine shots.
“‘Let me go online and see how we can get you registered’, and then from then on, I completed the process for him,” Love said.
Love said she will escort him again in 28 days to get a second shot.
Officer Love said she and her fellow officers see themselves as not only police, but community liaisons.
