One picture was all it took for Deputy Ric Lindley to become famous for his actions, and be given the title ‘hero.’ And it’s true he definitely is one.
According to Al.com Lindley is a 60-year-old former U.S. Army Green Beret and he doesn’t understand what he’s getting credit for doing. “I did nothing heroic,” Lindley said. “All I did was hold a baby.”
“The baby was fine because she had been buckled in a car seat, but she was upset to start with,” Lindley said. “After I held her and walked a bit, she quieted down. I recalled my days as a young father, and young grandfather, and I put those skills to work and calmed the baby down. She had a very sweet little personality.”
He is a 10 year veteran with the Sherriff’s Department, and a retired U.S. Army medical officer. He doesn’t understand why everyone is making a big deal about what he did. “I’m just a man. I’m not better or worse than anyone else,” he told al.com. “I’m just a Dad and a grandfather. That’s about it.”
He also told them he loves kids and if he had the money he’d have had 100 of them!
When talking about the accident he said that “I held her for a good while, at least an hour and a half. I wanted to give her mother time to regain her composure. She’s a young mother, and this was probably extremely traumatic for her. She was having a rough time from an emotion standpoint.”
But even his department thinks he deserves recognition. Sheriff Mike Hale was quoted saying “I have said many times I wished somehow everyone knew how good they really were,” he said. “This deputy is part of the family I’m referring to and we are especially proud of the recognition he is getting today for this simple act of care and kindness.”
Chief Deputy Randy Christian said that Lindley deserved the attention he is getting. “That kind of work doesn’t come through training, it comes from the heart and the kind of person you are,” Christian said. “Great heart and character are the kinds of things we look for when recruiting. We certainly got it right on this one.”
