A viral video has put a Chatham-Kent Police Sergeant in the spotlight.
Bless a Stranger, a social media account run by Keenan Hunt, shared a video late last week of a young worker at Mr. Sub in Chatham offering to pay the difference herself so the customer, who said he only had $5, could get a sub.
Sergeant Jason Herder was waiting to order and stepped in to pick up the tab.
Turns out the man didn't really need the help, and he came back into the store to give the worker $100.
"When he came back in asking for the five bucks back, I was kind of like, 'Okay… like I get it.' And then he dropped the hundred bucks, and yeah, it was a pretty cool ordeal," said Herder. "Just to kind of be a part of all of it, and obviously it's blown up now, and I don't know why," said Herder. "I guess it's good to know there's so many good people in the world. To highlight the good that people are doing, it's certainly commendable."
The interaction actually took place last year.
"I texted my wife after, and I was like, 'I think I'm going to be on the internet, but it's a good thing it's a good thing,' and then nothing happened. So it's kind of one of those things, kind of put in the back of your mind and forgot about. Then I got a message from a friend on Friday that went 'hey, that's you,' and yeah, I'm kind of blown away by all of it," said Herder.
Herder said he's always been a big believer in "pay it forward."
"It was instilled a long time ago, and I've done it multiple times in my life, and it just it happened to be one of those experiences I got caught on camera and got shared with the world," said Herder. "I think the real hero here was the girl working the counter. Because if I wasn't in that room, you know, or there to take an order, she would have done that all on her, and out of the goodness of her heart. So really she's the real hero, and I just happened to be in the room."
At last check, the video has 3.3 million views on TikTok, over 385,000 views on Instagram, and over 77,000 likes on Facebook.
Herder is well-known in the Chatham-Kent community for his involvement with Special Olympics, the Polar Plunge, and the Mike Currie Memorial Run.
