Somerville police officer pays for displaced family's hotel room

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — The Somerville Police Department recognized an officer who made sure a family forced from their home didn’t spend a night in the streets.

On January 24, a family who lives on Cypress Street called police after their home because uninhabitable because of damage to the heating and water systems. The family got a hotel room for the night. But they ran into trouble the next day when the problems weren’t fixed and they couldn’t afford to spend another night at the hotel.

Sergeant John Marino, Officer Thomas Lambert and Officer Priscila Ribeiro brought the family to the police station while they tried to find them a place to spend the night.

Lambert later said he had secured a place for the family to stay. His colleagues thought he had found a shelter with room for the family, but at the end of their shift, they learned he used his own money and military discount to book a double room a hotel for the family of five, which included a seven-year-old child.

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Lambert refused to take money from the department or his colleagues. He said he’d “been there” and hoped someone would watch out for his family should the situation be reversed.

“Sometimes it’s not always about arresting the bad guy,” a statement from Somerville Police Department read. “Every once in a while, all it takes is a little compassion and human kindness.”

Lambert was awarded the department’s Beyond The Call Of Duty Award.

Cox Media Group