Philadelphia Police Officer Lynneice Hill remembered as "a real angel"
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Robert "Teddy" Davis remembers the moment he met Philadelphia Police Officer Lynneice Hill. She was like a ray of sunshine at one of his darkest moments.
"They brought in a bag of groceries, bags and bags," Teddy said. "And at the time I wasn't getting anything, hardly any income."
Teddy is living with stage four cancer and Officer Hill was doing what she had done since 2020, which was delivering groceries to cancer patients in need through the Legacy of Hope nonprofit organization.
"You could tell she was an angel," he said. "As soon as she walked in the door she had a big smile, shook my hand, gave me a hug. It made our day and the whole week we had food."
Michael Rowe runs Legacy of Hope.
"We've worked with Philadelphia police since February 2020, right in the beginning of the pandemic," Rowe said. "Every week they picked up groceries for us and deliver them to the houses of cancer patients cause a lot of them are too sick to get to the store."
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Officer Hill's untimely death is hitting Michael and Teddy and all who knew and loved her extremely hard. The 24-year veteran of the police department was found unresponsive inside her patrol car last Friday in South Philly. She died of a medical emergency.
"I knew it was her. I could just tell. I said 'No, no don't let it be that,'" Teddy said.
"She was just a remarkable person, just very genuine," Rowe said. "Her desire to help the community and strengthen the community was so genuine. She touched a lot of lives."
Officer Hill and her husband, who is also a Philly police officer, both worked with Legacy of Hope delivering to those in need. Officer Hill's legacy lives on in her unrelenting community service and in every life she touched.
"What really left an impression on me is how passionate she was about the community and wanting to help the community," Rowe said. "She really embodied the ethos of a public servant."
"She was a beautiful soul," Teddy said. "And now she's a real angel."