Benicia Police Cpl. Kirk Keffer was patrolling the industrial district when he saw a teen dressed in all black walking alone down a dark alley. Something didn’t seem right about the situation, so Cpl. Keffer looked closer.
“The street that I caught him on is really dark, and there’s no sidewalks. And he was dressed in all black,” he told Fox 59 News.
The 10-year police veteran pulled over and started to ask the teen a few questions. The young man turned out to be Jourdan Duncan, 18, a hardworking teenager coming home from the graveyard shift at a nutritional supplement company 7 miles from his house. Without a car, Duncan’s only option was to walk for 2 hours both to and from work.
The officer was stunned. In a generation of teenagers stereotyped as lazy bums looking for handouts, he had found a diamond in the rough. He knew the uphill route Duncan was about to take and decided to intervene.
“I said, ‘If you don’t mind, hold on a second.’ I went over to my front seat, cleared it out, and asked him if I could give him a ride home. He’s like, ‘You can do that?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I can do that.‘”
As Cpl. Keffer drove Duncan home he learned the teen had recently graduated highschool and that he had found an entry level connection at the laboratory through another patron of his church. He needed the money to support himself, but Duncan’s long term goal was to attend college and eventually become a police officer.
After dropping Duncan off at his house, Cpl. Keffer exchanged phone numbers with the hard working teen, but he didn’t stop there. After returning to the station, Keffer spoke with his supervisor. “He’s like,’We can’t get him a car.’ So I thought what about a bike? He’s like, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’”
The local police department raised $500 and delivered a new mountain bike to Duncan two days later. “I can see him walking out of the warehouse area. And I was thinking I hope he doesn’t think he’s in trouble for any reason,” Cpl Keffer said. “We said, ‘Hey, we just want to recognize you for your hard work and dedication. A lot of people your age don’t have that. We just wanted to reward you and help you with your commute back and forth and we hope you will accept this bike on our behalf.’”
Duncan couldn’t believe what was happening and has developed a strong friendship with his new mentor. Cpl. Keffer frequently brings Duncan with him on ridealongs and started a crowdfunding page to help Duncan raise money for college. “Most people use distance and not having a car as an excuse not to find a job. This kid — it wasn’t an obstacle. He just wanted to get to work,” Keffer said.