Ailing Officer In Suburban Lynwood Gets Boost From Colleagues, Community
(CBS) -- In Lynwood, an officer is finding out just how much he means to the people he's served nearly 30 years.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports.
Dan Kirby survived two tours of duty in the Middle East and logged nearly three decades as a police officer.
"To try and help people -- that's what I wanted to do," Kirby says.
Kirby's reputation on the force is inspirational.
"A man you see and that you want to model yourself after," Officer Luke Tambrini says.
Kirby is now batting PTSD and a third bout of cancer. Tambrini says he and others wanted to boost the colleague's odds.
The police department is home to Dante, a working dog trained to calm those suffering through PTSD. Kirby's fellow officers started a Go Fund Me page to raise the $15,000 necessary to purchase a dog for Kirby.
"I am excited wondering is he a girl or boy," Kirby says.
In barely a day, the community's raised more than $9,000.
Of that total, $2,000 alone came from a man Kirby once arrested who says the officer put him on the right path.
"It humbles me to the point where I cry," Kirby says of the response.
In addition to the online donations, word of the campaign has spread throughout Lynwood. Some people are stopping by the police station to contribute. Officers already have found Kirby a dog and it should be arriving by the end of January.
