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Cop Rushed Lost Guy to Job Interview

Ex-con wants to buy lunch for NYPD officer
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 15, 2016 2:31 AM CST
Cop Rushed Lost Guy to Job Interview
Roberts doesn't know the officer's name, but he hopes he will get in touch.   (Shutterstock)

An ex-con in New York City ended up riding in the front seat of a police car for the first time after getting lost on his way to a job interview. James Roberts, 58, says he used a free roundtrip bus pass to go to LaGuardia Airport, only to discover that his interview was at a company miles away. Roberts says the officer asked him what was wrong and when he discovered the dilemma, he "said, 'You're not going to walk there and make it there. What time do you have to be there?' and I said, '1 o'clock,' and it was like 12-something, and he said, 'Get in the car,'" Roberts tells ABC7.

Roberts, who hadn't worked for 10 years since getting out of prison, ended up getting the job at the rental car company. The interview had been arranged by America Works, a group that helps find jobs for hard-to-place workers. "Part of the reason he got that job is just they were so impressed with seeing a police officer do that for him," the organization's CEO tells CBS. Roberts tells CBS that when the officer dropped him off, "Last thing he said to me was good luck and God bless you." He says he told the officer he owed him lunch, and he hopes he will now get in touch so he can make good on the promise. (More NYPD stories.)

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