WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau Police Department is giving one of their own a pat on the back for doing the right thing when no one was watching.
Detective Jon Kindlarski found $500 in an envelope last week while on his way to give a presentation on fraud detection at a Cloverbelt Credit Union branch in Wausau, and instead of pocketing the cash he returned it to the teller line so it could go to its rightful owner.
“Jon didn’t have to do that, nobody would have been the wiser, but he did it because it was the right thing. That’s what we expect, and that’s who he is,” said Chief of Police Ben Bliven. He called the act an example of the kind of character that he looks for when hiring for all positions within the department, not just the law enforcement staff.
“We talk about our core values on a regular basis; professionalism, accountability, integrity, and respect. They are not just words we put on a wall, we believe in them and we hire based on the character of individuals.” Bliven went on to say from his discussions with Kindlarski he feels like his actions were just the right thing to do based on those values. “It’s nice to share with our community when there is an obvious example of that,” he added.
Bliven says he thinks anyone else would have done the right thing that day and returned the money, not just an officer from the police department. “We live in a great community and the truth is many people would have done the same thing.”
The rightful owner of the $500, who was not named by the department, send both Bliven and Kindlarski a letter to say thank you for returning the cash. Bliven said if not for getting the letter, he wouldn’t have known about Kindlarski’s actions.
When Bliven asked Kindlarski about the money, he told his boss “I could just see [it belonging to] a grandparent or somebody who gives out Christmas cards to each of their grandkids with a $20 bill in them. Or maybe it’s for Christmas gifts, who knows maybe it’s for a mortgage or a rent payment. You don’t know what it’s for and it’s important to make sure you don’t take something that isn’t yours.”
“It’s the holiday season and these types of feel-good stories are nice to share,” added Bliven.
