Shawnee woman receives yard cleaning from police

SHAWNEE, Kan. - A Shawnee family is thankful for a service police officers rendered while off duty.

Barrels of brush and debris are sitting in front of Mary Harris' home, ready to be hauled away. It was debris that was in the driveway.

In recent weeks, neighbors complained to Shawnee code enforcement officers about broken limbs and debris in Mary Harris' yard. The city sent letters to the home but Mary Harris is legally blind so she didn't receive the letters, and her adult son, Farrin Harris, is illiterate and was recovering from a poisonous spider bite. He was unable to walk or work for nearly two months.

"The spider bite was the worse thing that ever happened to me," said Farrin Harris.

Instead of issuing a citation, the code enforcement officer who talked to Mary Harris on the phone, called for help.

Several members of the Shawnee Police Department spent their off day picking up debris from the Harris home, and hauling it away. They didn't so much as knock on the door to receive thanks.

"I am thankful for those guys coming out and helping," Farrin Harris said. "I appreciate everything they've done.".

Mary Harris wishes the officers had knocked on the door so she could thank them personally, but she said their kindness has only solidified her fondness of police officers.

"I love cops; that's all I got; what more can I say," said Mary Harris.