It's hard to imagine that anyone would put up $15,000 cold, hard cash of their own money to help get a total stranger out of jail.

But that's exactly what happened late last week, when Jennifer Bartley saw 25-year old Calvin Wilkes being taken into custody.

She's described the event as being one of the worst things she had ever seen.

Wilkes and two others were arrested last Thursday for allegedly  causing a disturbance near the Light Street pavilion.  Officers said they refused to leave, and that's when things got heated.

The arrest was brutal,  according to bystanders, who say the methods used by the police were brutal at best.  One of the arrestees soon found himself bleeding from the mouth.

A department spokesperson said they take these allegations seriously and have launched an internal investigation.

What was more astounding, according to those close to the case, was the judge ordered Wilkes to have a cash-only bond restriction.   Basically, the full amount would need to be put up with the court in order for him to be released from jail pending trial.

Bartley said she was so disgusted by what she saw, she decided to pull out her checkbook.

If the defendant skips out on bail and doesn't complete his case, Bartley will lose her money.

The kindness of strangers

A second, similar random act of bail-posting kindness took place just three weeks ago, after a homeless mother of two who was arrested after eaving her children in a hot car while she attended a job interview.

Another 24 year-old woman, who has no ties to defendant Shanesha Taylor, took to Internet fundraising websites to raise money for the cause.

More than $100,000 has reportedly been raised to date, they said, and those funds were not only used to post Taylor's bail, they will also go toward covering her legal fees.