Austin police officers deliver new A/C unit to North Austin man

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Association and Austin Cops for Charities gave a new air conditioning unit to Tommy McNeil, a North Austin man Thursday. 

McNeil was 20 when he was paralyzed. 

“My friend's girlfriend called my name I turned around and she pulled the trigger, shot me dead center in the Adam's apple," McNeil said. "She said she didn’t know the gun was loaded, but I don’t know.”

After the shooting, McNeil had medical complications. He was unable to keep his business open and is unable to regulate his body temperature. 

“My sweat glands don’t turn on,” McNeil said. 

That became a big problem when McNeil's air conditioning unit froze this summer. 

“Literally I’ll just keep getting hotter and hotter," McNeil said. "I’m wet right now because I had a 20 pound bag of ice on me all day.” 

Tommy’s mother Sandra Bruce called Austin Police and told them his story. On Thursday, they brought him a new air conditioning and heating unit. 

“We wanna give back. We put on the uniform on a daily basis to give back to our community,” Officer Bino Cadenas of the Austin Police Department said.

Bruce said she wants to thank the department “with all of her heart for helping us.” 

The help is extra special to Bruce as she remembers her late husband. 

“I want them to know my husband was a retired deputy sheriff before he died, this really means a lot to us,” she said. 

“It just kind of goes to show show how small the world is, and in my own opinion, God works in mysterious ways. We’re able to give back to those who served,” Cadenas said. 

“It’s awesome you know God works and God’s a good man,” McNeil said.