Photo of Detroit cop helping man with tie at courthouse goes viral

By Suzie Ziegler 

DETROIT — A Detroit officer’s quiet act of kindness went viral Tuesday after a photo of the encounter was shared online.  

The image shows Cpl. Eric O’Neal helping a young man learn to tie a tie, according to WDIV.  

O’Neal, a K-9 unit officer, said that he had been at court for an exam. As O’Neal was leaving, he noticed a young man in need of help. 

“This young man came up and said, ‘Does anybody know how to tie a tie?’,” O’Neal recalled. “Initially I had tried to tie it on him. It never works that way. So, I put it around my neck, tied it. I put it around his neck and he kind of stood there for a second. So, I flipped his collar up, got it squared away. Showed him what part of the tie to pull to make it longer.” 

A witness from inside the courthouse took a photo of the moment and shared it online. 

“It was almost a little embarrassing that they got a picture that I didn’t even see where it came from. I just kind of heard about it after,” O’Neal told WDIV. 

According to O’Neal, the young man’s mother later waved the officer down and thanked him. 

“Something as simple as that – to be able to help – officers on this job do it every day,” O’Neal said.

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