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When police officer Hector Marquez Jr. responded to a family argument in Albuquerque, New Mexico, instead of making an arrest he worked towards helping others and showing compassion instead.

When police officer Hector Marquez Jr. arrived at the home in question the only information he had to go on was that there was a family argument. After contacting the adult in the home the police officer learned that a 62 year old woman was raising her 6 grandchildren on a very fixed income and things were tight financially.

A Family In Dire Straights, and a Police Officer Who Believes in Helping Others and Showing Compassion

For police officer Hector Marquez Jr. the job he performs is not about power or authority, it is about compassion and helping others. The family argument that led to the call for help was between some of the children in the family. After Hector Marquez Jr. calmed the children down and talked with the grandmother he knew he had to help.

According to the interview that Hector Marquez Jr. gave to reporters he was quoted as saying “I don’t know how we got onto the topic of the welfare of the kids and if she needed anything. She had told me that they had last eaten in the morning, that grandma made pancakes, but she couldn’t get her food stamps until the 19th, which was eight days away.”

Police Officer Hector Marquez Jr. Was Not Looking For Recognition

What happened next was inspiring, because police officer Hector Marquez Jr. showed true compassion and the spirit of helping others without expecting anything in return. Marquez finished the police call and then slipped around to a grocery store, spending his own hard earned money in order to help others. The police officer purchased milk, snacks for the children in the home, sandwich supplies, bread, meat, eggs, and other supplies.

Hector Marquez Jr. did not alert his supervisors about his compassionate act or the way that he was helping others, he was not looking for praise or appreciation for his actions, but another police officer who knew about the caring actions of Marquez did tell the higher ups in the police department. When the supervisors found out what police officer Hector Marquez Jr. did they wanted to recognize his selfless actions towards helping others and his compassion, both on and off the job.

Others Chipped In When Police Officer Hector Marquez Jr. Purchased Food For Family

In addition to police officer Hector Marquez Jr. there were firefighters on the scene and other officers present for the call, and these individuals also chipped in to help out the elderly grandmother trying to support 6 grandchildren. With a mother in and out of jail the grandmother was left to try and raise her 6 grandchildren on her own, with a fixed income and no ability to work for extra money. The Albuquerque, New Mexico police department honored Hector Marquez Jr. for his actions, with the belief that helping others is an integral part of a police officer’s job.

Questions To Think About:

• What would you do if you were in police officer Hector Marquez Jr’s shoes?
• Would you reach into your own pocket and spend your own money in order to feed this family?
• Could officer Marquez have simply called DHS or referred the grandmother to food pantries in the local area?
• How would you have handled the family argument among the children?
• Would you take in 6 grandchildren when money was tight because their mother was not acting appropriately or would you send them to foster care? Why?