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NYPD Officer Secretly Photographed Doing Good, Purchasing Homeless Man $100 Boots
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 29, 2012
Modified Nov 29, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 29, 2012
Modified Nov 29, 2012
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This week the NYPD posted a photo on their Facebook page given to them by Jennifer Foster of Arizona, who was visiting Times Square on November 14th, and it's some straight-up modern day Norman Rockwell stuff. Foster and her husband saw a homeless man on the sidewalk without shoes, asking for change—she wrote to the NYPD:
“Right when I was about to approach, one of your officers came up behind him. 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.’ The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man. The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching. I have been in law enforcement for 17 years. I was never so impressed in my life. I did not get the officer’s name. 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 on myself or any of the Arizona law enforcement officials with whom this story has been shared.”
While the NYPD wasn't sure who the officer was, he's since been unveiled as 25-year-old Lawrence DePrimo, who was working a counterterrorism post when he spotted the man. DePrimo recalled: “It was freezing out and you could see the blisters on the man’s feet. I had two pairs of socks and I was still cold.” He found out the man's shoe size, went into a nearby shoe store, and picked up a $100 pair of boots for the man (the employees saw what he was doing and gave him $25 off). He keeps the receipt with him “to remind me that sometimes people have it worse.”
A spokesperson for the NYPD told Bart's Peoplethe NY Times, “This is definitely the most viral” they've gone—at press time, the photo has 320,966 Likes; 76,773 Shares; and 20,339 Comments.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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