INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — One Independence police officer went the extra mile when he discovered a homeless family living at the end of its rope.
Investigators were called to the Hometowne Studios motel on E. 42nd Street South on Wednesday for what they thought would be a domestic violence call. Instead, officers met a family living in fear and arguing about the next cautious step to take.
Julius Irons and his longtime girlfriend, Brandy Gonzales, had taken up temporary residence in that motel, along with their four children. Irons and Gonzales explained they’d both lost full-time jobs in recent months, and the family was evicted when they were unable to pay rent.
Independence Police Officer Mark Lafromboise, who is known to his friends as “Frenchy,” volunteered to take the family grocery shopping and to pick up a meal. Police told FOX4 the money for both of those purchases came from the officer’s own billfold.
“We didn’t know where we were going to go, and with all this rain and stuff, we didn’t want to be sleeping on the streets with my kids,” Gonzales said.
“He spent 50 bucks of his own money to feed us, to make sure the kids are straight,” Irons said.
Lafromboise also summoned Community Services League, a nonprofit based in Independence that serves families who have financial and residential needs.
CSL officials helped pay the family’s hotel bill for an additional three days, and on Monday, the agency will move all six of them into a family shelter, where they can begin their recovery from this hardship.
“My kids were scared at first because it was a white officer, and they’re mixed,” Gonzales said. “Officer Frenchy gave my kids hope again that cops aren’t bad.”
“COVID has really made a lot of families struggle with lack of resources, income, employment opportunities,” said Amber Bauer, Community Services League’s vice president of housing services. “It’s hitting families who’ve never had to navigate the system before. It’s families like this who don’t ask for help.”
Both Gonzales and Irons said they’re seeking full-time work at employers located along metro public bus lines.
A spokesperson for Independence police said officers are trained to spot instances where kindness will go further than arrests and citations will. Gonzales and Irons have a GoFundMe set up, as the family seeks permanent lodging and full-time work.
