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FMPD officers honored for helping family in need

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FORT MYERS, Fla.- Fort Myers police honored two of their officers Friday for going above and beyond the call of duty.

Officer Robert Vega and Officer David Dietz have been selected Officer of the Month for January 2015. The officers were honored for showing care and compassion for a family in need of assistance.

On Thursday, Jan. 29, Officer Dietz located an occupied suspicious vehicle parked at the Trailhead Neighborhood Park located at Shoemaker Boulevard. The vehicle was occupied by a father, mother and their four children ages 4, 6, 9, and 12.

Officials discovered that the family was homeless and living out of their vehicle. The Salvation Army was full and the temperature that night had dropped to 45 degrees, the family also did not want to run the heat in their vehicle in order to conserve fuel.

Officer Vega arrived as back up and both officers began searching for options to house the family for the night.  After exhausting all means and calling several hotels and shelters with no results, both officers decided to spend their own money and split the cost of a hotel room so the family and children could stay out of the cold.

The family was able to stay at the Knights Inn for one night until they could relocate to a permanent shelter the following day. Neither officer expected compensation or a reward for their act of kindness but were content to know the family would be out of harm’s way, despite their own out of pocket expense.

“It is our policy to recognize employees of exemplary performance of their duties” said Chief Doug Baker. “We appreciate their heroics and the hard work that these men and women put in each day.”

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