Michigan sheriff’s sergeant buys bus ticket for blind, robbed man

JACKSON, Mich. (WILX) - Imagine coming to Mid-Michigan in search of opportunity, just to have everything stolen from you upon arrival. That’s the story of a blind man who came all the way from Little Rock, Arkansas to Jackson, Michigan. However, the horrible scam turned out to have a happy ending.

It was a fairly regular day for Sergeant Tom Freeman when he responded to a call about a blind man in Jackson.

“I had a quick conversation with the gentleman, he explained kind of briefly the situation he was in,” said Freeman.

The man traveled to Jackson under a false promise and had all of his things stolen including his phone and wallet. He went two days without eating and spent a few days in Jackson with nothing but the clothes on his back.

He has family that could help in Ohio, so Freeman bought him a bus ticket, along with some food and water.

“He was elated. He was like ‘You’d buy me a ticket?’ and I was like ‘Yeah, man, absolutely,’” Freeman said.

When the two men arrived at the bus stop, Freeman spoke with the driver to make sure the man would get home safely. The driver ended up being a retired police officer, who promised to finish the job.

“And nobody would’ve known about it had Sgt. Huttenlocker not discovered that bus ticket purchase,” said Jackson County Sheriff Gary Schuette.

Freeman was called out for a special operation, so Sgt. Bryan Huttenlocker came in to cover his shift.

“There was a bus ticket to Greyhound on his computer screen, and when he got back, I just asked him about it,” Huttenlocker said.

Freeman used his own money to make the purchases, but this was just another day on the job for him. Huttenlocker knows how frequently Sgt. Freeman does selfless acts like this one and wanted him to finally get recognition for it.

“The last thing Tom Freeman would want is for anybody to know about it,” said Huttenlocker.

Sheriff Schuette said this is an everyday occurrence, acts that typically go unnoticed.

“They’re really humble about the things they do for people,” said Schuette. “If I said every deputy every day, I think that would be an understatement. It’s important for everyone to understand who the true hero is here. That’s Sergeant Freeman.”

He doesn’t do it for the recognition but for the community that he loves.

“You just want to help. We have a pretty broad description of our job, and that’s not necessarily it but, I think just as human beings we try to do what we can to help others out,” said Freeman.

His coworkers said it was not the first time Freeman has paid for hotel rooms or food for people in need.

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