Thread: theres hope for humanity, NYPD officer buys homeless man shoes

Man that's the least he can do.

While he was holed up in his house staying out of Sandy's wrath, this guy was barefoot under news paper!

rookie cop, his heart hasnt been removed by the PD yet

i like the idea of people helping people but why do so many have to post pics of them doing it ? if you do good for others it should be enough that you know it. you should do it and not look for recognition .

Originally Posted by so1970

i like the idea of people helping people but why do so many have to post pics of them doing it ? if you do good for others it should be enough that you know it. you should do it and not look for recognition .

It was a tourist from the other side of the country that took the picture. The cop wasn't pulling a Sean Penn.

cop noticed the man had no shoes and it was a cold night. photo was caught by a tourist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/ny...it_ur_20121203

Homeless Man Is Grateful for Officer?s Gift of Boots. But He Again Is Barefoot.

By MARC SANTORA and ALEX VADUKUL

After Officer Lawrence DePrimo knelt beside a barefoot man on a bitterly cold November night in Times Square, giving him a pair of boots, a photo of his random act of good will quickly took on a life of its own ? becoming a symbol for a million acts of kindness that go unnoticed every day and a reminder that even in this tough, often anonymous city, people can still look out for one another.

Officer DePrimo was celebrated on front pages and morning talk shows, the Police Department came away with a burnished image and millions got a smile from a nice story.
But what of the shoeless man?
For days, his bare feet ? blistered and battered ? were well known. Yet precise details about him proved elusive.

His name is Jeffrey Hillman, and on Sunday night, he was once again wandering the streets ? this time on the Upper West Side ? with no shoes.
The $100 pair of boots that Officer DePrimo had bought for him at a Skechers store on Nov. 14 were nowhere to be seen.

?Those shoes are hidden. They are worth a lot of money,? Mr. Hillman said in an interview on Broadway in the 70s. ?I could lose my life.?

Mr. Hillman, 54, was by turns aggrieved, grateful and taken aback by all the attention that had come his way ? even as he struggled to figure out what to do about it.
?I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission. What do I get?? he said. ?This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie.?

He did not recall the photo being taken but remembered well the gift from Officer DePrimo. ?I appreciate what the officer did, don?t get me wrong,? he said. ?I wish there were more people like him in the world.?
At another point he said: ?I want to thank everyone that got onto this thing. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. It meant a lot to me. And to the officer, first and foremost.?

Mr. Hillman said he came to New York about a decade ago and had been on the streets most of that time. He moves about Manhattan, he said, not frequenting any particular neighborhood. On Sunday, he was making his way from the Upper West Side to Times Square.
If it rained, he added, he might seek refuge on a train.

Mr. Hillman said he was from South Plainfield, N.J. He said he joined the Army in 1978 and served as a ?food service specialist? in the United States and Germany.
He produced a worn veteran?s identification card that confirmed his service.

Mr. Hillman said that he was honorably discharged after five years and that before he became homeless he worked in kitchens in New Jersey.
He has two children ? Nikita, 22, and Jeffrey, 24 ? but has had little contact with them since a visit three years ago, Mr. Hillman said.

He was reluctant to talk about how he ended up on the streets, staring blankly ahead when asked how his life went off course.
After a long pause, he shook his head and said, ?I don?t know.?

Since Mr. Hillman?s bare feet became famous, other people reported seeing him without shoes ? one even after Officer DePrimo?s gift ? and one woman said she had bought him a pair of shoes a year ago. Whatever the case, Mr. Hillman seemed accustomed to walking the pavement shoeless.

He was panhandling on Sunday night and carried a cup with a few coins inside.

The story seemed to dominate the city?s attention late last week. Speaking of Officer DePrimo on his radio program last week, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, ?That?s what they?re trained to do ? help people.?
Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly expressed his appreciation by giving Officer DePrimo a pair of department cuff links during a private meeting on Thursday.

Officer DePrimo, 25, who lives with his parents in Suffolk County, rocketed to national attention after the Police Department posted the photo of him and Mr. Hillman, taken by an Arizona tourist, on its Facebook page.
On Sunday, Mr. Hillman was spotted by Jamie Seerman and her sister Samantha near 79th Street and Broadway as they were shopping for a Christmas tree.

As he was being interviewed, several people noticed him.

?What happened to the boots?? one man asked.

That was a great act that the officer did. Somethings wrongs with this guys mind that guy probably sold them shoes for some drink. Another story they talked to his brother and said he's always welcome to his home but he would rather be in the streets.

This bum is worthless. Of course his crack smoking ass wants a piece of the pie.
Mr. Hillman, 54, was by turns aggrieved, grateful and taken aback by all the attention that had come his way ? even as he struggled to figure out what to do about it.
?I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission. What do I get?? he said. ?This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie.?

Cool cop. Shitty bum. Nuff said.

shoes aren't hard to get if he really wanted some/

Well ain't that about a bitch! You try and do a good deed but it's never freakin' good enough !

I went to Wayne State University in downtown detroit. I would see the same bums every day for 5 years. They all said they could eat, get clothes, find somewhere to stay, etc.. no problem. they could get that for free from many different places or sources. the reason they beg for money is because you can't get drugs and alocohol for free, thats all they want. they don't want a job, or friends or family or food. You can't help them and there is no point trying, save your money and charity for when your friends or family need it.

it would be nice if someone helped him turn his life around, but he's on the street for a reason and there just aint nothing you can do for some people.

he sold his shoes for crack or boze and most people know thats whats gonna happen, so people who walk by without helping seem cold and calous, the reality is they all probably offered some help, food or money to someone and learned from it.

Originally Posted by heckler7

it would be nice if someone helped him turn his life around, but he's on the street for a reason and there just aint nothing you can do for some people.

He's not even homeless.
Shoeless NYC man isn't homeless after all

There's this homeless woman that I see all the time asking for money. I had some leftovers from this restaurant and offered her some, but she went ahead and told me, "I don't want food. I want some crack!"

I thanked her for her honesty and went on my way.

In most big cities (especially ones that get cold), there are tons of places where the homeless can go to get food, shelter, clothing, etc., but most homeless people are either drug addicts, batshit crazy, or both. They are looking for a fix... I used to give folks money, but no more... Just food.

Speaking of 'crack' . anybody got any ??????

I usually kick them as I walk by, that way they at least have some human interaction and can still feel a little bit alive...

Originally Posted by ebn2002

I went to Wayne State University in downtown detroit. I would see the same bums every day for 5 years. They all said they could eat, get clothes, find somewhere to stay, etc.. no problem. they could get that for free from many different places or sources. the reason they beg for money is because you can't get drugs and alocohol for free, thats all they want. they don't want a job, or friends or family or food. You can't help them and there is no point trying, save your money and charity for when your friends or family need it.

Still like that around in Cass corridor and all over really. Was just down there last weekend

Oh, BTW, the guy wasnt homeless and hes a criminal. Just read about it in the news today

Barefoot man given boots by NYPD officer not homeless | Nation/World | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

"The homeless man said he'd never had a pair of shoes."

Those with rose colored glasses can't see those caught red-handed nor the gusher that is their own bleeding heart....
How could they have even thought to report such a blatant lie?

Originally Posted by troubador

He's not even homeless.
Shoeless NYC man isn't homeless after all

what a douche, and thats why almost everyone walks right on by

Originally Posted by Bilal123

most homeless people are either drug addicts, batshit crazy, or both. They are looking for a fix... I used to give folks money, but no more... Just food.

in the US the majority of homeless suffer from severe mental illness. alcohol and street drugs are used in an attempt to self-medicate which when then usually causes a dependency problem and compounds the negative effects that illness. out of all the wealthy country's in the OECD the US has the highest numbers of severe mental illnesses with the majority of them not being under treatment.

no there is not




sorry heckler