Officers help elderly man riding bike on highway

BREMEN, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A helping hand from some Bremen police officers is earning them a lot of praise.

The officers noticed an older man riding his bike in dead of night to get something to eat. They not only helped him get some food, but also bought him some items to make his bike rides safe.

Focused on the job at hand, Bremen Police Sgt. Phillip Wagner and Officer Justin Colson didn't know a Waffle House employee snapped a photo of them outfitting an elderly man's bike with reflective safety gear Friday night.

"My wife she was scrolling through Facebook and she came across it," Wagner said. "She said, 'Have you seen this?' I said, 'No I haven't.'"

The restaurant employee had posted a photo and post about the officers kind gesture on social media/

"I took a look at it. It was a blessing to see that somebody had noticed what we actually do out here," Wagner said.

Colson alerted Wagner after he spotted the 71-year-old man biking along Highway 27 in the dark, Friday night.

"Noticed the guy pedaling his bicycle down the road and he was very hard to see. So he got out made contact with the guy. And then I arrived shortly after," Wagner said.

Colson put the man's bike in his vehicle and took him to the restaurant.

Wagner headed to a nearby Walmart, purchased some safety accessories, then continued on to Waffle House where the officers outfitted the man's bike with lights and reflectors free of charge.

"He was very grateful that we had went. He even asked 'How much do I owe you?' I told him 'You don't owe me nothing, sir. It's just something that we do," Wagner said.

Bremen Police Chief Keith Pesnell says it's great to see the community's response to his officers' good deeds.

"It's nice to see that people took the time to notice that the guys did something good," Pesnell said.

As for Wagner, he's just glad to help.

"We help people out all the time," he said. "I just want to be that person that leads by example for my guys and just treat people as you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes at that moment. "