Deputy praised for lending helping hand to out-of-towners

St. Charles Parish Deputy Phillip Matherne smiled heartily as he recounted his time spent with 7-year-old Jala McRae.

“It’s the reason I put this uniform on,” Matherne said. The young girl was traveling with her grandparents from Pennsylvania when the family’s car broke down in a non-parking lane at Louis Armstrong International Airport in Kenner.

Matherne was working a detail at the airport when he came across the family who asked for his help.

“They asked if I had a pair of jumper cables, and I said that unfortunately I didn’t, but that I’d call and see if anyone had them,” he said. “I saw them pacing back and forth … traffic was a little bit backed up, so I said, ‘Let’s just pull your car back to my truck and get it out of the way, and I’ll stay around until you can find somebody.”

Jala, however, had a quiz for the young officer.

“She was all over, pointing to things on my belt,” he said. “I kept telling her what things were. Then, her grandmother told me Jala wants to be a police officer when she grows up.“(Jala) came up to me and started asking more questions …  I just decided, ‘I’m staying right here with her.’”

At the top of her list of questions was ‘How do you become a police officer?’

“I told her about the academy.  She asked, ‘What’s that?’ ‘It’s where all the training takes place,’” Matherne said. “‘How long does it take?’ ‘It’s very long.’ She was so happy and energetic about it.

“I said she should pursue her dreams. If you want it, just keep going and you can get it.”

Jala’s grandmother, Michele, was so touched by Matherne’s willingness to help the family — and the quality time he spent with her granddaughter — that she wrote a letter to the Sheriff’s Office commending him.

“I just want to give a huge thank you to Officer Matherne for making Jala so happy and knowledgeable about the work and training of police,” McRae wrote. “He is truly dedicated, compassionate and above all a phenomenal officer! The short time he spent with Jala made a positive impact in her life. For that, we are grateful. The world is a better place because of police like Officer Phillip Matherne.”St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Pat Yoes said Matherne did his fellow officers proud.

“We’re absolutely proud of him,” Yoes said. “Because of him, here are visitors to New Orleans who walk away with a positive opinion of our area.”

When McRae contacted Matherne to thank him again and ask whom she could send the letter to, Matherne asked if she could send the picture the family had taken with he and Jala — he wanted to send it to his wife, Jennifer, who said his willingness to spend time helping a child came as no surprise.

“I think Phillip’s always had a special place in his heart for children,” she said. “He was a firefighter before and at the time showed kids demonstrations on using the fire truck … when he sent me the picture, it definitely warmed my heart. He loves kids and loves anything as far as helping them, teaching them, I know that made his day.

“He’s at his best when he’s playing with kids. That’s when he’s his happiest … when he’s the most himself.”Matherne said helping the family didn’t take much thought. “The most rewarding part of the job is the chance to help others,” he said. “When you’re able to give that helping hand and they say, ‘thank you,’ I know I’ve done my job.”

In light of much national news recently casting police in a controversial light, Yoes said Matherne’s selflessness lends a breath of fresh air and an example of the many good citizens and people who put on the uniform every day.

“When you look at all negative stuff across the country with law enforcement, it shows what really is at heart here. Law enforcement officers are members of the community and contribute to the community. Here’s a positive experience.

These things will fade in adults’ memory but she’ll remember this forever.”

And much like Matherne provided a lift to Jala and the McRaes, they provided one to him as well. Yoes and Matherne were speaking one day after the tragic shootings that resulted in five deaths of police officers in Dallas.

Given the backlash against police as a group of late, something as simple as a ‘thank you for doing what you do’ can provide a real boost, now as much as ever. Both officers nodded quietly in acknowledgement of that thought.

“Without a doubt,” Yoes said.