Samaritans in blue.(The Goodness Of America)

Lieutenant Kelly Rushton and Officers Darrell Dain and Sean McCarthy work graveyard shifts for the West Valley City Police Department in Utah. For many weeks, they had been keeping track of a homeless man, whom Officer Dain had first noticed teetering down a street in November of last year, living in a tent near Utah's Jordan River.

At first, Dain assumed that the man, Jimmy Deblasio, was drank, but after talking to him Dain learned that Deblasio "was walking funny because his feet were amputated because of frostbite. So I started checking on him here and there." During their nightly patrols, the three officers occasionally brought Deblasio a hamburger or cup of coffee, and during the Christmas season they collected some clothing and other items for him.

Concerned that Deblasio might not survive the frigid winter temperatures, however, the lawmen eventually asked him if be had any ...