NYPD Officer Lawrence DePrimo Buys Boots For Homeless Man
From the person who snapped the photograph:
Jennifer Foster of Florence, AZ who works for the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office there, 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, a police officer 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.”
The rest of the story:
The officer (Officer Lawrence DePrimo), normally assigned to the Sixth Precinct in the West Village, readily recalled the encounter. “It was freezing out and you could see the blisters on the man’s feet,” he said in an interview. “I had two pairs of socks and I was still cold.” They started talking; he found out the man’s shoe size: 12.
As the man walked slowly down Seventh Avenue on his heels, Officer DePrimo went into a Skechers shoe store at about 9:30 p.m. “We were just kind of shocked,” said Jose Cano, 28, a manager working at the store that night. “Most of us are New Yorkers and we just kind of pass by that kind of thing. Especially in this neighborhood.”
Mr. Cano volunteered to give the officer his employee discount to bring down the regular $100 price of the all-weather boots to a little more than $75. The officer has kept the receipt in his vest since then, he said, “to remind me that sometimes people have it worse.”
As for the man he helped, Officer DePrimo never got his name, and he could not be immediately located on Wednesday. “He was the most polite gentleman I had met,” the officer said, adding that the man’s face lit up at the sight of the boots. Officer DePrimo offered him a cup of coffee, but “as soon as the boots were on him, he went on his way, and I just went back to my post.”
During this holiday season, let this be an example for us to help our fellow man (or woman) in need. I’m not a ‘bleeding heart’, however I do know that too often most of us are too concerned about ourselves and our own troubles. Remember this though… There is ALWAYS someone who is worse off than you, that could use a helping hand. Who knows… maybe your act of kindness will come back around to you some day…
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I shed manly tears
*tears* As we prep, it’s important to remember not to hoard. We are blessed. We need to still help out those less fortunate. Yes, keep a little back for yourself, but hand out some to those in need. And it feels so good. If you help others, God will provide for you, but you cannot turn your back on your fellow man.
Ken,
Let’s pray many more random acts of kindness, charity, and common sense make the news.
Over all the years that I have visited New York City, I have found the officers on the NYPD to be the most professional, the best trained and helpful of any department I have seen. Officer DePrimo represents the highest standard of police services.
God bless officer DePrimo.
Five minutes later….
A. The guy trades these boots for some crack and a bottle of wine
OR…
B. His bum friends bash his face in and steal his boots
Nice gesture by the cop though
ahhh… come on detroiter – you’re spoiling the mood… but I suppose you could be right.
This was the most wonderful thing to read. Especially so, because many people are unappreciative, if not abusive to the Police. There’s a place in Heaven for this officer!!
AMEN
That is a true gesture for kind people out there in the world. God Bless you for all you do NYPD.
Angels have many faces.
“Who knows… maybe your act of kindness will come back around to you some day…”
Our acts of kindness always come back to us, if not in this life, then in the next.
I have never been in trouble with the law, but I can honestly say I have never had a positive interaction with local town and state leo’s. They are rude, corrupt, and overstep their legal boundaries every chance they get. It is good to see a story like this- a lesson to all of the blue badge of dishonesty.