Police went undercover to catch criminals. Their failure was inspiring.

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He went looking for the worst in humanity. Instead, he found the best.

Police went undercover to catch criminals. Their failure was inspiring.

After two robberies of wheelchair-bound people that were carried out at knifepoint, a Vancouver police officer went undercover as a paralyzed man in a wheelchair.

Staff Sgt. Mark Horsley took on the role of a paralyzed person with a brain injury who was confined to a wheelchair.

Dubbed Operation Wheelchair by the police department, the goal was to find the person or people responsible for victimizing folks who were more vulnerable because of their disabilities.

The officer expected people to take advantage of him or maybe even rob him. But that's not what happened.

Not even close.

Instead, he got to know other members of the community who use wheelchairs.

A young man asked if he could pray for the undercover officer.

Another stopped to chat with the officer about his own mother who was in a wheelchair. During the encounter, the man reached out toward the officer's waist pouch, where some of his money was sticking out.

But get this: He wasn't trying to steal it. The man instead zipped it up and kindly warned the officer to be careful not to lose his money.

Much to his surprise, instead of being victimized, he saw repeated displays of human kindness. And it didn't end there.

The officer also told anyone he interacted with that he couldn't count.

That gave people who purchased things from him — or in one case where a woman asked him for change for a $5 bill — an opportunity to be dishonest.

But nobody was. Instead, at the end of the operation, the officer had $24.75 more than he started with.

People chose to give rather than steal.

We usually see news stories about people doing bad things, but those aren't the only stories.

The reality is that there are lot of kind people in the world who treat others with respect and consideration.

That may not be 5 o'clock newsworthy, but it's worth remembering and sharing.

As Horsley said:

"Not one person took advantage of my vulnerability... . The caring and compassion expressed to me in my undercover role was inspiring."

You can watch the Vancouver Police Department's video summary of their operation for a quick reminder that there are lots of decent people everywhere.

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No one is safe until everyone is safe: the continued cost of a global pandemic

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The global eradication of smallpox in 1980 is one of international public health's greatest successes. But in 1966, seven years after the World Health Organization announced a plan to rid the world of the disease, smallpox was still widespread. The culprits? A lack of funds, personnel and vaccine supply.

Meanwhile, outbreaks across South America, Africa, and Asia continued, as the highly contagious virus continued to kill three out of every 10 people who caught it, while leaving many survivors disfigured. It took a renewed commitment of resources from wealthy nations to fulfill the promise made in 1959.

Forty-one years later, although we face a different virus, the potential for vast destruction is just as great, and the challenges of funding, personnel and supply are still with us, along with last-mile distribution. Today, while 30% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, with numbers rising every day, there is an overwhelming gap between wealthy countries and the rest of the world. It's becoming evident that the impact on the countries getting left behind will eventually boomerang back to affect us all.

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The international nonprofit CARE recently released a policy paper that lays out the case for U.S. investment in a worldwide vaccination campaign. Founded 75 years ago, CARE works in over 100 countries and reaches more than 90 million people around the world through multiple humanitarian aid programs. Of note is the organization's worldwide reputation for its unshakeable commitment to the dignity of people; they're known for working hand-in-hand with communities and hold themselves to a high standard of accountability.

"As we enter into our second year of living with COVID-19, it has become painfully clear that the safety of any person depends on the global community's ability to protect every person," says Michelle Nunn, CARE USA's president and CEO. "While wealthy nations have begun inoculating their populations, new devastatingly lethal variants of the virus continue to emerge in countries like India, South Africa and Brazil. If vaccinations don't effectively reach lower-income countries now, the long-term impact of COVID-19 will be catastrophic."

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