Phoenix Cop Celebrated After Helping Homeless Vet

PHOENIX, AZ — A Phoenix cop is receiving accolades for a small gesture of good will on Monday. "I stopped because he needed help," said Officer Christopher Bovert of a man he found laying on the hot asphalt at the intersection of Southern and 16th Street.

The man was a homeless veteran, he told Bovert, and had fallen out of his wheelchair.

Bovert walked up to help, and another citizen joined in. "[W]e lifted him up in the chair," Bovert said in a conference, noting the heat. "It was 97 degrees, so it was pretty hot outside," with the asphalt baking in the sun. He wheeled the man into some shade.

The man had a few cuts on his head, CBS5 reported, so Bovert called for assistance.

"It was the best transition I ever made in life to put on the uniform every day go to work and help other people," Bovert said in an interview. He originally began working for the department as a civilian, then he earned his badge.

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"I was just doing my job, and a lot of people told me I did a great job," Bovert said in the interview. FOX10 described him as a shy and humble man.

Phoenix Police Commander Jim Gallagher said Bovert's gesture in helping man was not unlike many others in the city. "This is not atypical for the Phoenix Police Department," he said, FOX10 reported. Bovert "is one of the lucky few who received notice, but this goes on all across the city in precincts every day."

Bovert agreed. "Just part of the job," he said, CBS5 reported.