Acts of Kindness
Teen gets picked up by cop in, realizes he has no intention of stopping the car
The vehicle he was driving was unmarked.
Jessica
12.02.20

In January of 2018, 19-year-old Kori Malenfant and her family took to Facebook to thank a Boston Police Department captain for his “amazing and generous act of kindness.”

He went the extra mile for the young woman and her parents – quite literally.

A long winter day

Malenfant, who lives in Maine, was in New York to have brain surgery a few days earlier at Presbyterian Hospital.

She told The Boston Globe that her January 2nd operation was necessary to correct what’s called a Chiari malformation. That happens when the brain tissue extends into the spinal cord, causing severe pain.

The teen and her parents took the Amtrak train home but were delayed in Boston by wintery weather. The next train wouldn’t be coming along for another two-and-a-half hours.

That meant the trio would have to wait in the cold train station where there was no place for Malenfant to rest her neck comfortably. She was still healing from the surgery, after all.

That’s when her mother approached two nearby Boston police officers. She just needed a place for the family to store their luggage so that they could find a warm space for Kori to rest until the train came.

Malenfant recalled the situation in a Facebook post:

“The officers quickly assured Mom that they would help us by contacting their captain to see what he could do. Shortly after, the Boston police captain came to us and asked us to follow him.”

You Tube Screenshot - GBH News
Source:
You Tube Screenshot - GBH News

Above and beyond

The man who helped them was the Boston PD’s Captain Kelley J. McCormick. He took the family’s luggage and loaded it into an unmarked police SUV and told the family to get in.

“We just started following him, and we weren’t really sure what we were doing,” Malenfant said in a phone interview with the The Boston Globe.

“He pulled into the police station, got gas, and quickly started heading North. We were all pretty confused at this point, and assumed he was going to ride us around a little bit to warm us up,” Kori recalled in her Facebook post.

Eventually, the family asked McCormick where he was taking them. And according to Kori’s mother Wendi, he informed them that he was in it for the long haul.

“He said, ‘Of course I’m taking you to Portland [Maine]. Your daughter’s not going to sit in that cold train station being four days post-surgery,” the mother said.

Kori told the story with a bit more humor:

“After quite some time, as we continued moving North, Mom asked where we were going, and he laughed and said he was kidnapping us and that it was perfectly legal. We soon realized he was driving us all the way to Portland, back to our car!”

Making friends

The family got to know the police captain during the ride that they were so grateful to get. That’s when they found out that heroics come naturally to McCormick. He was one of the main commanders in charge during the Boston Marathon bombing and the manhunt that followed.

“He is a humble, inspiring, kind man. I am blessed and honored to have spent a car ride with such an amazing national hero,” Kori wrote.

Boston police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross said McCormick’s actions didn’t surprise him at all. He’s known for his good deeds.

“That’s not a one-time thing with Captain McCormick,” Gross said Sunday. “He’s always giving. He’s a very free-spirited and giving individual. He has a great soul. . . . The mayor’s allowed us to put captains in each of our 11 districts that do get it, that do go above and beyond. Captain McCormick just showcases what’s being done across our city. He’s a great guy.”

The reunion

That wasn’t the last time Kori would see McCormick either. In October of 2019, she wrote about their reunion:

“…I was able to visit with Captain Kelley McCormick while in Boston on my honeymoon. My husband and I went to a Bruins game, where I was able to reconnect with him. He escorted us through TD Garden, upgraded our seats, and even gave us an official game puck as a wedding gift. There will always be a special place in my heart for this wonderful man who helped me during a scary time in my life, and who has helped so many throughout his life and his career.”

Now that’s the kind of story we like to hear!

Be sure to scroll down below to see an interview with McCormick.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Advertisement