USA/FILE: Thousands touched by photograph of New York cop helping homeless, shoeless man

Record ID: 230594

  • Title: USA/FILE: Thousands touched by photograph of New York cop helping homeless, shoeless man
  • Date: 30th November 2012
  • Summary: INTERNET (NOVEMBER 30, 2012) (REUTERS) (MUTE) NYPD FACEBOOK PAGE WITH PHOTOGRAPH NYPD FACEBOOK PAGE WITH STATEMENT READING "Jennifer Foster of Florence, AZ was visiting Times Square with her husband Nov. 14 when they saw a shoeless man asking for change. She writes, '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..." NYPD FACEBOOK PAGE WITH STATEMENT READING "'I didn't think anything of it.' - Police Officer Larry DePrimo" NYPD FACEBOOK PAGE INTERNET (NOVEMBER 30, 2012) (REUTERS) (MUTE) TWITTER PAGE WITH PHOTO AND TWEETS VARIOUS TWEETS VARIOUS OF NEW YORK CITY MAYOR MIKE BLOOMBERG TWEET
  • Embargoed: 15th December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Police,People,Social Services / Welfare
  • Reuters ID: LVAAVR3HNHXNEOJ5LD43EIWYGP0U
  • Story Text: A photograph of a New York City police officer crouching next to a homeless person and offering the barefoot man a new pair of boots on a cold night in Times Square has drawn a deluge of praise after it was published on the police department's Facebook page this week.
    By Friday afternoon (November 30), nearly 535,000 people had clicked a button on the department's Facebook page to indicate that they "liked" the photograph. Tens of thousands left comments, most praising Officer Lawrence DePrimo for his charitable deed.
    "It was freezing. The first thing I thought was 'This is absolutely unacceptable', so I went up to him and I said, 'Where are your socks or shoes or anything?'" said officer Larry DePrimo.
    "I keep the receipt in my bullet proof vest because I think it's an important reminder that some people have it worse," he added.
    The photograph was snapped by Jennifer Foster, an employee of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in Florence, Arizona, during a trip to New York this month, according to police.
    She took the picture shortly after she noticed the man asking passersby for money.
    "The fact that he cared enough to stop his shift, his day and spend his time and his money for this gentleman who had nothing I can't say enough about it," Foster said.
    After Foster took the photograph, she posted it to the NYPD Facebook page with this note, "Right when I was about to approach, one of your officers came up behind him."
    She said she was some distance away and the officer did not know he was being photographed.
    "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," Foster explained.
    DePrimo posted the response, "I didn't think anything of it."
    DePrimo, aged 25, joined the force in 2010 and lives with his parents on Long Island, according to The New York Times. He paid $75 (USD) for the boots from a nearby Skechers store after an employee there gave him a 25 percent discount upon learning they were to be donated to a man in need.
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