McComb Police Chief Juan Cloy recognized a Bogue Chitto man at Tuesday evening’s McComb city board work session for recently coming to the aid of a stranger — before revealing a plot twist.
Cloy said a man was working out several weeks ago when he started breathing heavily and became distressed.
“It looked pretty bad, from what I understand,” he said.
The Good Samaritan, Joshua Nieburg, said, “I stopped and asked if he needed a bottle of water and if he was all right.”
Nieburg was passing through McComb when he saw the man.
Cloy said that the police department gets two to three calls a day regarding welfare concerns, with callers usually reporting that someone is on the side of the street or does not look well.
“Seldom do we get anyone that stops and says they are with someone who needs help,” he said. “We get people who call and say that they drove by and the police need to check on them. We used to have people check on others, but now they just call the police.”
Cloy presented a certificate to Nieburg praising him for his humanitarianism.
“I want to present this certificate for his concern for his fellow man, proving there are still brave and caring people willing to make themselves uncomfortable for others’ comfort.
Cloy then revealed that the man Nieburg saw was in fact the chief himself. He had been jogging to “de-stress from the day.”
“He saw me,” Cloy laughed. “I’ve been at the track many days sweating down and sometimes crawling, probably looking crazy.
“He stopped to ask me if I needed water or anything. He was on his way to work and took time to stop to check on me.”
Nieburg told the board that he was simply checking on his fellow man, and he thought he needed help.
“I think that is commendable of him, so I wanted to recognize him,” Cloy said.
