Editor’s Note: We’re looking for photos like the one below. Any images which capture courage, compassion, comedy, commitment, poignancy — anything that might restore the citizenry’s faith in law enforcement — in hopes we can help PoliceOne Columnist Val Van Brocklin to put together a book with as many such pictures as possible. If you have a photo to submit, please send it to Val via email.
By J.D. Sumner
The Albany Herald
NEW YORK — Seriously? The homeless man who became the recipient of a $100 pair of boots thanks to the generosity of a New York City police officer wants a “piece of the pie” after he says the photo of the officer’s act of kindness went viral without his permission.
The man, identified by the New York Times as Jeffrey Hillman of South Plainfield, N.J., told a Times reporter who found him wandering the streets of New York — barefoot again, mind you — that he has a claim because the photo was circulated without permission.
Hillman told the reporter that he was barefoot due to the fact that “he’s hidden (the boots) because they are worth a lot of money.”
Officer Larry DePrimo and Hillman became famous after a photo was taken of DePrimo buying Hillman the pair of boots for Hillman went viral on the Internet and across various media formats.
The photo snapped by Jennifer Foster shows New York City Police Officer Larry DePrimo presenting a barefoot homeless man in New York’s Time Square with boots Nov. 14, 2012 . Foster was visiting New York with her boyfriend on Nov. 14, when she came across the shoeless man asking for change in Times Square. As she was about to approach him, she said the officer came up to the man with a pair of all-weather boots and thermal socks on the frigid night. She took the picture on her cellphone. It was posted Tuesday night to the NYPD’s official Facebook page and became an instant hit. More than 350,000 users “liked” it as of Thursday afternoon, and over 100,000 shared it.
Copyright 2012 The Albany Herald