TAUNTON — A Taunton police officer has renewed Kristen Sutherland’s faith in humanity, she said.
Sutherland, a bartender at the Bertucci’s restaurant in the Silver City Galleria where a brutal stabbing took place Tuesday, said Officer Josh DeOliveira was working a detail Friday at the restaurant “to keep us safe and to calm the running thoughts that continue to reoccur.”
During his shift, DeOliveira handed the employees an envelope with $100 for each of them, the money he would have earned working the detail, Sutherland said.
“He wants us to feel supported and restore our faith in people. The tears keep running. I am so overwhelmed by love in a time of distress. Miracles happen and there are everyday heroes all around us,” said Sutherland, who is a Fall River resident, in a Facebook post Friday.
Sutherland said in a telephone interview with the Taunton Daily Gazette on Friday that DeOliveira told the employees he didn’t feel right about getting paid to be there after what had happened.
“It was very overwhelming emotionally in a positive way. It brought a lot of light back to humanity for me,” Sutherland said.
“His exact words were, ‘It’s all about paying it forward,’” Sutherland said.Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh said Friday evening that DeOliveira hadn’t even told him what he had done.
“It’s a very nice gesture. He probably wasn’t aware anyone would find out. It’s an excellent reflection on him and the caliber of person he is. It’s just a good-feeling thing to do,” Walsh said.