Officer serves, protects and consoles family facing hardships

By Admin on December 27, 2009

Tondonlia Brown and her two young children escaped a Christmas morning fire, only to return to their South Side apartment and find burglars had stolen their gifts and many of their possessions.

Just as the holiday was looking grim, Chicago Police Officer Michael Lawrence stepped in with toys and a gift card. He had responded to the burglary call, and after talking to Brown and the children, he couldn’t get their plight off his mind.

“I saw a true sorrow in her face,” said Lawrence, 32, an eight-year veteran working in the Englewood District.

Brown and her children, Shaun Taylor, 6, and Keiara Taylor, 2, are grateful.

“He did more than what was expected, in my opinion,” Brown, 30, told the Tribune tonight. “You don’t hear of too many good cops like that. I appreciate everything he did for us.”

Tondonlia Brown at her grandmother’s house on Saturday. (Photo for the Tribune / Yvette Marie Dostatni)

On Saturday, the family finally had a chance to exhale following a difficult Friday.

Brown’s Englewood apartment caught on fire after midnight. After firefighters helped them escape, she and her children were sent to St. Bernard hospital for smoke inhalation.

Hours later, Brown got a call from the building superintendent. Her apartment had been robbed.

Firefighters knocked in multiple windows to help the family escape. That left an opening for burglars to sneak through and steal the gifts under the Christmas tree, her big-screen television, clothes, jewelry and game systems, Brown said.

She entered her apartment to find framed pictures smashed and all of her Christmas decorations ruined.

“I was devastated,” Brown said. “It was hard enough to go through the fire, but to come back home and find all of your belongings gone like that was unspeakable.”

Brown said she was laid off in January and has spent the past year looking for a job. She said she spent her last bit of money buying clothes and games to reward her children for good grades.

Lawrence said he used his own money to bring Brown and her two children a $200 Sears gift card, two police action figures, and “Kids on Patrol” hats and T-shirts.

“I couldn’t imagine being a kid and going through that,” Lawrence said. “Although it’s been a tough Christmas for them, I hope things come through for them in the end.”

Brown’s apartment is uninhabitable because of the amount of smoke damage. She’s staying at her grandmother’s house but said there’s little room and soon will move into a motel.

“I will always have a place in my heart because of his generosity,” Brown said. “He was concerned and showed that he cared.”

Tribune reporter Carlos Sadovi contributed.

–Daarel Burnette II

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