Manitoban's gratitude for police goes viral

After pulling off the road to answer some text messages Rae Huber was surprised to see the flashing lights of a police car behind her. Especially when she had done the right thing. 

However, she says, the entire event was a positive one, and also one that made her stop and think.

Huber is a rancher north of Eddystone, Manitoba. She says she was travelling home from Ashern on Thursday evening when she decided to pull off the road near the Narrows to answer "some bings on my phone."

Another vehicle started to pull in behind her and as she didn't know who they were or what they want she decided to leave. "Then the red and blue lights came on so I stopped and put my truck back into park," she says.

Instead of being annoyed, though, Huber was grateful. The officer had come to her window to check if she needed help in the cold. The officer talked with her for a bit and then they parted ways.

"I told him that everything was okay, that I needed to reply to some messages and certainly was not gonna do it driving. I told him I had all my winter gear in case my truck let me down, and then Officer Andrew from Ashern detachment and I had a nice little chat."

The next day Huber decided to write a post thanking police for the work they do. In less than 24 hours it has already been shared over 1,800 times.

'Takes guts and trust'

Huber told CHVN in an interview that she decided to write the post "because after the officer left my truck window all I could think of was 'how can he do that?' How can any of them do that - walk up to a vehicle in the dark on a quiet lonely highway, and not know who is in the vehicle and what danger might befall them?

"He has no way of determining my state of mind or if I have any weapons until he reaches my truck. That takes guts and trust!"

Huber says she appreciated the officer stopping to check on her. "It was darned cold and checking to see if I was okay was great."

A job of helping others and keeping them safe

RCMP media relation officer Sgt. Paul Manaigre says while he can't speak for this particular officer or others, he knows the reasons why he does his job.

Manaigre was a front line officer for 21 years and he says "I don't perform these duties thinking that I have to, I do it because I want to."

He says every officer appreciates kindness from citizens. "Be assured, each and every officer out there appreciate the simple little gestures - the thank you here, the handshake there - for me, it's those little things that make me proud to do what I do.

"I don't do it for any other reason except to make sure they're safe."

Hopes others appreciate police

The response so far has been surprising for Huber. "Honestly, I had no idea if anyone would like my post much. That it is going viral . . . wow."

She's now hoping that it provides an opportunity for people to stop, think, and appreciate what police do for others. "That's what we've always taught our children," she says.

"A firefighter knows he/she goes into a blaze, a military person knows they are going into a battle, a paramedic knows they are going into someone’s health crisis. But a police officer sometimes has no clue or knowing what they are walking in to or up to. That takes a whole different kind of courage!"

Before 24 hours was even up the post had been shared over 1,800 times.