Random Act of Kindness: Tourist Photographs Unaware NYC Cop Giving Shoes To a Homeless Man

Sent to RHU from Hiedi:

Yahoo News - A photo of a New York City police officer kneeling down to give a barefoot homeless man in Times Square a pair of boots on a cold November night is melting even the iciest New Yorkers' hearts online.

On Nov. 14, NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo, who was on counterterrorism duty in Times Square, saw the older homeless man without shoes sitting on 42nd Street. DePrimo, 25, left and then returned with a pair of $100 boots he bought at a nearby Skechers store.

"It was freezing out, and you could see the blisters on the man's feet," DePrimo, a three-year veteran of the department who lives with his parents on Long Island, told the New York Times. "I had two pairs of socks, and I was still cold."

The random act of kindness was captured by Jennifer Foster, a tourist from Florence, Ariz., who was visiting the city. Foster, communications director for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in Arizona, emailed the photo to the NYPD with a note commending DePrimo.

"The officer said, 'I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let's put them on and take care of you,'" Foster wrote. "The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man.

"I have been in law enforcement for 17 years," she continued. "I was never so impressed in my life. ... It is important, I think, for all of us to remember the real reason we are in this line of work. The reminder this officer gave to our profession in his presentation of human kindness has not been lost." 

Foster's photo was posted on the NYPD's Facebook page on Tuesday, where it received more than 320,000 "likes," 77,000 "shares" and 20,000 comments—most of them praising DePrimo, who seems to have restored Facebook's faith in humanity.

"This is one hell of a police officer," Desiree Wright-Borden wrote.

"Wow," Jack Horton wrote. "It's nice to know there are still good people out there."

"Angels truly do walk on earth!!!" Charlene Hoffman-Pestell wrote.

Some commenters, though, were skeptical, saying the photo could have been staged.

"Clever stunt!" Louis Zehmke wrote. "The hobo is 'parked' at the entrance of a shoe shop."

But Foster claims DePrimo had no idea he was being photographed: "The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching."

via news.yahoo.com

 

Comments

[The Worst]

Some people will just piss on anything, won't they? Louis Zehmke, you are a grade-A douchenozzle, and just because you are too selfish to ever consider doing this for another human being doesn't mean everyone is. Kudos to DePrimo for being an awesome guy.

[Cherry IScream]

You know what?

Even if it WAS a stunt (which I don't think it was), the guy spend $100 to give the homeless man a decent pair of shoes.

At this time of year, we have people assaulting each other to try and get hold of discount goods they probably don't need. There's some perspective for you.

[Hiedi]

I don't think the officer knew he was being photographed at the time. Nor do I think it was his intention for this simple act to take on a life of it's own.

I am going to take this story for face value-that somebody (who, this time, happened to be an on duty cop in uniform) saw a man in need. Knowing he could not fix all of the man's problems-why he was homeless, his need for stable housing ect, he could at least do something. And that was to get him some socks and a decent pair of shoes.

This is something neither one will forget.

[Zmidponk]

Given how often you see stories about bad cops, this is a very nice reminder that bad cops aren't the only kind of cop there is.

[trekkiebabe]

That is an awesome thing! We need to take care of each other, this police officer had the right idea!

[CashierBtch]

This was on the news last night. He still lives with his parents (so do I, do thats no big deal) and I'm sure they are the proudest parents in the US right now. They raised a great guy!

[candieaddict]

Yeah, I saw this on the news too.

The dude sounded, in the interview, like he had no clue the lady was taking the photo.

Such a sweet man! We need more of these people in the world.

[fulltime]

Most officers in uniform don't make nearly as much as we think. To donate expensive shoes for the homeless man shows that this officer went above and beyond the call of duty. Both professionally and personally!

When I was a soldier, we did annual training in Poland (for one month at a time). We tossed out chem sticks and MREs to the kids that watched us drive to our training site. The Polish were so very thankful.

There was a time that I went to the mall. There was a man in his mid twenties and was asking for just pocket change. He felt bad asking, but his car was broken into (he showed me and pulled out a key to unlock the car to prove it was his). He was hoping to get a bunch of small change to get money for gas. He lived in Nashville, TN and I live in Louisville, KY. That is about a 4 hour drive. His suit cases were stolen, no wallet, no cash, no credit cards. After he opened his broken glass car, I gave the man forty dollars. I also told him to follow me to the gas station. I used a credit card to fill up his gas tank (which only had 1/4 of a tank). I also went inside and got him a 24 ounce can of beer, a couple of drinks and snacks. He broke out in tears and asked for an address to send money back to me went he got back home. I told him not to worry about it but he insisted. I gave him my address, and about three weeks later, I got a letter in the mail with all the money I spent plus an extra $30.00 for interest.

I never expected anything in return. I believe in karma. When I got that extra $30.00, I made a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project. Pay it forward.

The officer in this article needs a good commendation put in his personnel file. If more people did a good deed, our country would be a better place. I am not saying that we need pay every time we see something, but if you got an extra few cents of pocket change, don't be afraid to give it. Besides, I can't even buy a soda for less than a dollar. $0.37 isn't much to lose.

[Soft Ice Girl]

This story absolutely made my night!
It is so wonderful that there are decent people out there!
And very nice to see a god cop for a change, as most often the violent cops make the news.

[Skittles]

Kudos to the cop though I have to admit being a little skeptical. It probably wasn't staged, but with media the way it is you can understand why some folks would be suspicious. The photo is framed almost professionally and they mentioned a few key words like terrorist, blistered feet, and claiming the cop put the shoes and socks on the guy himself. The last part clearly meant to evoke biblical levels of humility, something few cops have. I'm with it so far as the cop buying the guy shoes, probably because with all the Sandry overflow he had little hope of getting the guy to a shelter.

[Sandman2010]

I know it came out later that the homeless man actually did have an apartment and was just off his nut, but that doesn't take anything away from the officer's act of kindness. Wish we had more people like him these days.