Franklin Police Officers Assist Homeless Man With Malfunctioning Wheelchair

FRANKLIN (CBS) – A veteran Franklin Police Department officer praised his colleagues for their efforts to help a homeless man whose motorized wheelchair battery died.

The department posted on its Facebook page that a homeless man was in the station's lobby in his motorized chair, which had a battery that was almost dead.

Officers visited with the man while his battery charged, police said, and tried to get him a ride back to the train so he could continue on to a Boston shelter.

When calls for a van did not work out, officers went to the Franklin Department of Public Works and got a town van to transport the man.

In addition, officers bought the man food and gave him their own money for travel and lunch, according to the Facebook post.

"I just ask you to keep this and other things similar to this in mind that occur frequently around the country the next time the news shows that one officer that makes a mistake and does not perform well," the officer, who has worked on the force for 26 years, wrote. "Good job today FPD, you made one of the old guys proud to wear the blue."