A woman from Kansas City, Missouri, donated her lottery winnings to an officer who was shot in the head earlier this month and hospitalized in critical condition.
Officials with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department shared this “wonderful act of humanity” on their official Facebook page and identified the woman as Shetara Sims, a single mother who has been struggling to pay her bills after losing her job due to the CCP virus pandemic.
“She went to the grocery store last week and found a $1 bill in the parking lot,” the department stated. “She used that to buy a lottery ticket, with which she won $100.”
Sims’s 12-year-old daughter was with her mother when she hit the winning ticket. Rakiya, the girl, told her mother they “should give that to the police officer who got shot,” which Sims agreed with immediately.
She called the police department on July 10, telling them she wants to help the injured officer. Officials learned about Sims’s financial situation and urged her to keep the money she won, telling her the officer is in good care.
But Sims refused, saying that the officer’s family needs the money more than she does and that “police needed to know they were supported.”
Authorities told her if she really wants to donate to the family of the injured officer, the money can be used to buy “restaurant or gas station gift cards” so they can buy food and go out to eat as they travel to and from the hospital.
Sims told the department how detectives who worked on the murder case of her daughter, who was killed in 2012 while they lived in Kansas City, were like “therapists, fathers, and lifelines” when she was grieving following her loss.
After Sims’s story spread, hundreds of people told the department they want to help her family. Officials track down the woman, and explained to her that people want to donate money to her via a fundraiser.
She responded to the department, “doesn’t the officer’s family need it more than me?” After a conversation, she agreed to have a GoFundMe fundraiser set up for her, which has already reached over $22,000.
“We’ve been talking about this story among ourselves all weekend, and we are floored and incredibly humbled,” the department said. Her “act of kindness has touched Kansas City.”
Over the weekend, Sims and her daughter met with the injured officer’s co-workers, who were present during the shooting on July 2 that injured the officer, whose name was not released. They were responding to a disturbance call about a man threatening people with a gun, according to a news release.
“As officers arrived, the suspect ran, and officers ran after him on foot,” the release stated. “The suspect began shooting at officers and struck one in the head. Officers returned fire, shooting and killing the suspect.”
In an update on July 17, the department said the officer is now in stable condition and he is able to breath on his own.
“He is doing physical therapy and can stand with assistance,” police said. “He is becoming more alert, and doctors are monitoring continued progression in neurological function and responsiveness.”
The officers’ family said his progress is encouraging but asked for his name not to be released.
