Senoia police officer's act of kindness transforms lives of both officer and homeless driver

SENOIA, Ga. - A traffic stop last November in Senoia would change the life of the driver and the officer involved. Piedmont Newnan Hospital awarded Sgt. Chris Black Tuesday for the compassion he showed to the homeless man behind the wheel. 

Antonio Hill wasn’t just driving this SUV. He was living in it and delivering Instacart groceries when pulled over.

Sgt. Black, of the Senoia Police Department, stopped Hill for an expired tag and no insurance.

The two men would come together eight months later under happier circumstances. An award for Sgt. Black. A better life for Antonio Hill.

"I’m just doing so well now, and I am grateful to Officer Chris," Hill said.

Hill was not doing well that night. He was admittedly rock bottom with no job, no home, and after this traffic stop, no car. Sgt. Black had no choice but to impound it.

"It really tore at my insides," Black said.

What came next, would later earn Black an award from Piedmont Newnan Hospital. Their First Friday Heroes Award, they presented it to him for the act of compassion that is the rest of this story and a pivotal moment for Hill. 

"In November of 2022, Sgt. Black made a routine stop that would change a man’s life for the better," said Vicki Kaiser, Chief Financial Officer of Piedmont Newnan Hospital.

That night Sgt. Black got Hill into a shelter and assistance from Bridging the Gap Community Outreach. He also loaded Hill’s Instacart groceries into his patrol car and delivered them himself, so Hill could still get paid that night.

And as Sgt. Black says the rest was up to Hill, who now has a job, a home, and a testimony.

"This is to share with somebody else later on down the road that you can get through those moments, even when it tough, hard and you don’t have nobody to turn to but the Lord," Hill said.

"Mr. Hill is the hero in this story," Sgt. Black said. "When you are down, you don’t have to be down."

That November night when the blue light came on, Antonio Hill said he asked out loud, "Why me?" He says he got his answer and much more.