'We're Supposed To Be Good Men': Police Officer Buys Ticket For Stranded Deaf Traveler

September 2, 2025

A chaotic scene at a Pittsburgh Greyhound station turned into a heartwarming act of kindness thanks to one officer’s compassion

Officer Steven Harris was dispatched to the bus station after a call about an “unruly” man, where he discovered the man wasn’t causing trouble at all. Instead, he was deaf, unable to read or speak English, and stranded in an unfamiliar city after his bus left without him—taking his luggage and money along with it.

Officer Harris and the stranded deaf traveler / Pittsburgh Bureau of Police

“He was just a male who was deaf and didn’t speak English or read English, so it just turned out he needed help to get back on a bus to New York and eventually Montreal,” Harris explained.

After trying everything — using ASL translators, setting up a hotspot so he could type messages in French, and even reaching out to traveler’s aid and family with no success — Officer Harris refused to leave the man stranded in Pittsburgh.

Instead, he reached into his own pocket and bought a $113 train ticket, ensuring the traveler could make it to New York and be reunited with his belongings.

“We’re supposed to be good men. Good men helping other good men. That’s it,” Harris told KDKA.

Harris doesn’t expect to see the man again, but he hopes this good deed sparks others to pass on kindness whenever they get the chance.