Last spring, Bethlehem Police officer Joshua Hobson was among the first responders at a dangerous four-alarm apartment fire in Pennsylvania.
“Send every firetruck you have,” he radioed on May 2, 2025, as he arrived at the burning building. Hobson then climbed all five floors, warning residents to evacuate immediately.
Inside the smoke-filled structure, Hobson and another officer helped rescue an elderly woman who used a wheelchair and was trapped in her top-floor apartment. The response earned commendations, including a Distinguished Service Award from the city of Bethlehem — one of three honors Hobson has received over the past two years.
But it’s a much smaller, quieter moment on the job that has recently drawn widespread attention.
During an overtime shift on Wednesday, Jan. 7, Hobson — who usually patrols Bethlehem’s south side — was sent to the home of an 88-year-old woman on the city’s north side. She feared her house had been burglarized.
After checking the home, Hobson determined there had been no break-in. Still, he noticed something troubling: the front door lock had been installed incorrectly, and the woman couldn’t secure her home. Hobson suspected a handyman she trusted for small repairs may have taken advantage of her.
The problem, Hobson discovered, was a keyless deadbolt that didn’t properly align.
“It was just there for looks, and the deadbolt didn’t line up,” he said.
Unable to lock her door, the woman told Hobson she no longer felt safe. She said she lives on a fixed income and cleans houses a couple of days a week, but had stopped taking jobs because she was afraid to leave home. She had even begun sleeping in her living room, worried someone might enter during the night.
Hobson, 40, decided to help. With a supervisor’s permission to briefly travel outside the city while on duty, he went to a home improvement store, bought a new keyed doorknob, returned, and installed it for her.
When asked what it cost, Hobson described the “payment” as a cup of coffee and a muffin.
“She made me a cup of coffee and a muffin,” he said. “We had, like, a little breakfast date.”
In his police report, Hobson noted that he also filled screw holes left behind from the earlier work and warned the woman to be careful about who she allows into her home, pointing out that not everyone has good intentions.
Supervisor Emily Schock said the gesture fits a long pattern of service. Hobson is now in his 14th year with the department and has been nominated for multiple awards in recent years — including recognition for helping a suicidal man in August 2024. Schock said she plans to nominate him again for helping the woman feel secure in her own home.
For Hobson, the most meaningful reaction has come from his children — 12-year-old Bryce and 14-year-old Avery.
“My kids think it’s cool that it’s become viral,” he said.
