Dave Jones and his girlfriend, from Umbria, Italy, were hiking in the California mountains of the John Muir Trail, when they ran out of food and needed to re-supply.
They were near Independence and wanted to try to hitch a ride to the larger town of Bishop, 42 miles away.
Unsure of the laws, they walked to the edge of town and their hearts immediately sank, believing they were in trouble for thumbing a ride, when immediately “along came a police cruiser.”
Out stepped Adam Otten, of the highway patrol in Bishop, but instead of writing them a ticket, he offered them, “and one other smelly hiker”, a ride.
“Not only did I get to ride up front, with the girls prisoner in the back, Adam offered to stop at his dad’s BBQ place for lunch,” Jones told GNN.
They were starving after having eating nothing but dried vegan hiking food and chia-breakfasts for a week. Once at the Copper Top grill, Dave feasted on a pulled pork sandwich, while his girlfriend enjoyed a mound of potato salad.
Adam then proceeded to drive the trio the rest of the way, dropping the hikers safely in Bishop.
“He was a true gent and explained that his job was to ‘Protect and Serve’: “When I’m not protecting, I’m serving’.”
Even though this happened in 2018, Dave never forgot it, and grabbed an opportunity to thank the officer for “that moment of servitude.”
“When I read about your latest ‘Good Cop‘ story, it immediately took me back to that encounter with officer Adam, and our lunch in Big Pine.”
“He was a super nice guy.”
“Despite the bad press, there are good cops everywhere.”