Officer Goes Extra Mile To Keep Woman Safe

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - After a Fort Worth woman's home was broken into, a veteran police officer wanted to make sure that she did not become a target again.

On the Fourth of July, Patsy Caudill came home to find that her patio door had been forced open. Various drawers and doors inside of her home were also left wide open. But, from what she could tell, nothing was taken.

Officer B.D. Jackson, a 24-year veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department, answered Caudill's call. "When I investigated, nothing was missing, which led me to think it was someone prowling around the inside of the house looking for her," Jackson explained.

The officer noticed that the sliding glass door leading to the patio only had a simple door lock that the would-be burglar was easily able to defeat. He also saw that a patio pin lock was no longer effective. "It needed some assistance," Caudill said with a laugh.

A few days later, on his day off, Jackson returned to Caudill's home, but not before making a stop at a hardware store to pick up a few supplies with his own money. Using his tools, he got to work. Jackson installed a couple of new security measures to reinforce the patio door, and added signs to her gate, warning intruders to stay out.

"It's just what Fort Worth police officers do out here," said Jackson.

In the days that followed, Caudill sent Jackson a thank you note with a crisp $20 bill inside. Jackson mailed the money back. He has trouble accepting praise for something that, he said, is simply part of his job. "It wasn't much at all, he insists. It's just something that had to be done," Caudill said.

The kind gesture has returned Caudill's peace of mind. She feels safer leaving her home, and going to bed at night. "It speaks of his character," she said. "It tells you what kind of person he is -- a good person."