State trooper's act of kindness goes viral

A Louisiana State Police trooper's good deed is going viral as one media outlet called it a "Mardi Gras miracle."

Master Trooper John Jett found a missing wallet on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, sought out the address of the owner and sent it back to the owner in the mail at his own expense.

The good deed would have gone unnoticed, but the owner of the wallet posted a photo on Reddit of his wallet and the accompanying note from Jett.

"My name is John Jett," the note said. "I am a trooper with the Louisiana State Police. While working Mardi Gras, I found your wallet on Bourbon St. at St. Louis St. I intended to leave it at a lost and found at the NOPD 8th District, however they really did not have one set up. I decided to mail it to you. I did go through your wallet in an effort to make sure the address on your [driver's license] was your correct address. Everything in your wallet is exactly as it was when I found it."

The post has already been viewed more than 1 million times.

State Police Col. Kevin Reeves told USA Today Network Jett's actions "are truly a model of public service."

"It's makes us proud as an agency and as a law enforcement agency that Trooper Jett would go above and beyond his duty as a public servant," Reeves said. "It represents the heart of the best of our agency.

"Law enforcement officers do these kind of acts of kindness every day, usually without fanfare. We'd have never known about this either if it hadn't been for the owner of the wallet. Trooper Jett never mentioned it. He just considered it part of his job."

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1