Rick Badie: Heart hits the jackpot if you pay it forward

By Rick Badie

Sometimes I fantasize about winning the lottery. About winning zillions of dollars. About being able to call my eight brothers and sisters, and choice friends, and tell them that they don’t have to go to work. That they no longer have to tolerate so-and-so and that they can politely tell the Man what he can do with his job. Now that would be nice.

Naturally, one has to play the lottery to win it. Plopping down a dollar or two a few times a year doesn’t cut it. Still, it would be cool to be able to offer financial freedom to my family, then maybe branch out and share the wealth with others who struggle. Which brings me to Buckhead businessman Joel Shapiro.

First, though, you need to know the story of Paul Phillips, a former Fulton County police officer who was shot three years ago while trying to help a woman under attack.

The woman had come to the rescue of a drunken, off-duty police officer from Duluth named Jay Dailey. Dailey had crashed his car in Sugar Hill and flagged down the woman to call 911.

Dailey suddenly went into an inexplicable rampage. Police say he smashed her car window, pepper-sprayed her and threatened to kill her.

Officer Phillips, who had been with the Fulton agency 12 years, stopped to intervene. Dailey shot him in the left arm. Phillips got Dailey in the left hand. Dailey was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Since the incident, Phillips has been unable to perform police duties. He lives off of a disability pension equal to 75 percent of his $44,500 salary. He told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had been making partial mortgage payments, something he called a “good-faith effort.” Chase Bank sent his Sugar Hill home to foreclosure.

So an officer who is married, the father of two and who can barely open a jar of peanut butter stood to lose his home.

Then in stepped Shapiro.

“Literally after I saw [the TV news story], I picked up the phone and said, ‘It’s not going to happen to these people,’ ” he told Channel 2 Action News.

This week, he met Phillips and handed him a check for $7,408.12, enough to bring the family up to date on its mortgage. And get this: He plans to send them to Disney World.

Imagine Phillips’ joy, the way he felt. Like he’d hit the jackpot. Like he’d just matched the winning numbers of a mega-millions drawing. No doubt the generosity, kindness and humaneness of a total stranger overwhelmed. And if Phillips ever has the chance, I’d wager that he’ll do exactly what Shapiro did: Pay it forward.

Peers and civilians have helped this family, too. Colleagues and friends have set up a fund on its behalf. Donations to the Officer Paul Phillips Fund can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank.

As for me, I just might plunk down a few dollars on lottery tickets today. Just in case.

Rick Badie, an Opinion columnist, is based in Gwinnett. Reach him at rbadie@ajc.com or 770-263-3875.