Suffolk, Va. - A month ago, a Suffolk police Sgt. Jeffrey Lurie had no idea who Franklin Cpl. Al Herdeg was.
"Law enforcement is law enforcement. You're a brother, you're a sister," he said.
Today he still hasn't met him, but Lurie spends his time raising money for his fellow "brother in blue" after an accident left Herdeg paralyzed.
"When something happens to us, we can only rely on our brothers and sisters because there's nobody else to call. "
Herdeg, a Navy vet and single dad of three boys, was decorating his home with Christmas lights.
His ladder collapsed and he fell two stories. He has injuries similar to Christopher Reeve who was paralyzed from the neck down.
Now his co-workers are left missing his smile.
"You realize very quickly when that part is gone how much you take it for granted. You don`t realize it on a daily basis until it`s not there. Then you go, 'I could use Al`s laughter today, and it hits home just a little bit harder,'" Cpl. Joshua Butts with the Franklin Police Department said.
Herdeg's story traveled to Suffolk, where Sgt. Lurie was ready to take action for a man he had never met.
"We want to get into this career because we want to help people, and that's what I felt necessary," Lurie told NewsChannel 3.
He created a gofundme.com page, asking for donations to help make Herdeg's recovery easier. He wants to give a the Corporal a wheelchair accessible car, ramps for his home, and money to remodel his house.
All for a man he doesn't know.
"He sounds like a bundle of joy. He sounds like the person every police officer wants to be," Lurie said.
Click here to visit the GoFundMe page if you would like to donate.
Other ways to donate:
-Send donations to: Franklin Police Department, 1018 Pretlow Street, Franklin, VA 23851
-There is a bank account set up at the Bronco Federal Credit Union
