HOUSTON – A veteran Baytown police officer is being hailed as a “lifesaver” by an African student who ran into some trouble.
“I am a believer. He came like an angel. He listened to me,” Dimitri Wafo, 26, said.
Wafo had tried to secure long-term, off-campus housing while he attended Lee College, but when he arrived at the rental house, the management said they had accidentally overbooked.
The marketing student was left without a place to stay and had trouble getting a refund, so he called the Baytown Police Department.
“I could tell by looking at him he was scared, so I took him under my wing,” Officer Clint Holden said.
In short order, Holden secured a nearly $800 refund for Wafo, which will take a few days to process.
In the meantime, the veteran officer also paid for several nights stay at a local motel, and gave Wafo money for meals and incidentals as he waits for his bank account to be replenished with the refund.
Thousands of miles from home, out of money and out of options, the student said the officer, who continues to check on him, deserves a medal.
“He saved my life. I don’t have enough words to thank him,” Wafo said.
“That was just the way I was raised,” Holden said.