APD officer goes beyond call of duty to help single mother

An Austin police officer is at it again going beyond the call of duty this time for a single mother.
               
Officer Jason Borne is no stranger to random acts of kindness earlier this year he helped an 18-year-old fix his car. The motorist who was stuck on the side of the road was trying to get to school when he got two flat tires.

That’s when Borne and his partner decided to give the student a hand.

Borne had the car towed to a nearby shop and with the help of social media donations and money from his own pocket he was able to get the car repaired.

His giving nature came into play once again this time helping Lisa Medinnus.

"The caller said a woman was walking in the right lane of the frontage road so I responded to the area sure enough I saw a woman walking down the right lane of the frontage road pushing a stroller," said Borne.

When Borne pulled up to Medinnus naturally she said she felt defensive.

"I don't need this I don't need an officer giving me a hard time or much less a ticket when you know I got the bills paid and I can't afford an Uber,” said Medinnus.

He then asked her why she was walking on a dangerous road with her back to traffic. Medinnus told Borne she had just taken her 2-year-old daughter to the dentist and didn’t have any other form of transportation.

At that point Borne suggested Medinnus buy an all-terrain stroller.

“You should get an all-terrain stroller so you can push her in the grass a lot easier and then I thought that’s really freaking easy for me to say to somebody who is pushing a stroller down a highway that they should spend money that they probably don’t have on a stroller instead of buying food and stuff. So I told her I would give her a stroller,” said Borne.

Instead of giving Medinnus a ticket Officer Borne decided to give her something else instead.

“Will you let me give you an all-terrain stroller, I can bring it to you tomorrow,” said Borne.

The next day Borne brought Medinnus the stroller, and she said she couldn’t believe the officer’s generosity and started to call Borne the “angel cop.”

"He's officer Borne, but he's Jason Borne he's our angle and he's our friend," said Medinnus.

Medinnus also received another surprise when officer Borne showed up to her home Saturday morning ready to deliver a load of toys in his s-u-v.

Officer Borne's kindness didn't just stop there. He said he was so touched by Medinnus’s story that he took to social media right from behind the wheel of his patrol car and pleaded for the public’s help.

"She has no car, she has no child care and she has no consistent job. She needs a car to get to day care and to get to work. She needs a job to pay for day care and pay for the car. She has this world of an overwhelming situation and she's needs a hand of help to get out of the hole," said Borne.

Borne also started a GoFundMe account and so far it’s gotten over $25,000 in donations.

Medinnus said she's thankful for Officer Borne and all that's he's done for her and her family.

"He took off his cop badge and put his angel wings on and he's been our angel ever since," said Medinnus.

"I’m not an angel I’m a person. I did start out in cop mode and she says she could tell when I transitioned as she referred to it as “put on angel wings.” But it was more from just looking at the situation as person and a father and having kids myself I think that's something important for a lot of people to remember that the dude or the girl behind the badge has a spouse at home have kids at home, have mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters and we are people too. And we’ve been through our own struggles and can relate to other people’s struggles. It was kind of a human to human moment,” said Borne.

If you’re interested in donating to Borne’s cause, click here.