DURYEA -- Police officers across the country are in the news much too often these days, and rarely is it good news, but some officers in Luzerne County are now thanking a stranger.
Nancy Labate is used to police from all over the area visiting her Italian restaurant, Vito's Bistro, in Pittston. But it's not so often that she sees a customer stepping in to buy police their dinner.
“The customer came in and saw two of the policemen here and they were picking up food and she offered to pay for their food,” she said.
The customer then whispered to Nancy over her cash register last weekend to add their roughly $30 tab onto her bill.
“They were standing right behind her so they didn't hear,” she said.
At first, police didn't know what she was telling the cashier and the woman even tried leaving the restaurant before telling police what she had done. But they caught up with her, and thanked her.
“Some people like to say this job is a thankless job, you don't get a lot for some of the stuff you do, but in Duryea here, we're lucky, our community supports us very much,” said Duryea Police Chief Nicholas Lohman.
The chief also admits he's recently noticed more people going out of their way to thank police.
“We had one of our officers, somebody gave them a hug saying thank you for what they do, and that goes a long way,” he said.
The chief hopes the community's support continues.
