Compassionate Officer Buys Homeless Man Shoes After Seeing Him Barefoot During a Rainstorm

By Amanda Thomason August 6, 2021 at 2:21pm

It’s hard to trust that some acts of kindness come from a pure heart, from people quietly living out their lives and doing good, when we see so many people parading their “charity” and enjoying the limelight they get for it.

A lot of viewers who watch videos of generous gifting wonder if the person did it because they knew they were being filmed. Some question whether amazing rescues are fakes, because the timing seems too perfect.

We’ve been made cynical, but here’s a case that doesn’t have many people calling foul.

An Atlanta Police Department officer, identified in an APD post as Officer S. Thomas, has recently been recognized for her kindness after a video of her was posted online.

On Tuesday, the videos were shared by Atlanta Uncensored, and showed the officer pulling a pair of shoes out of a car, handing the shoes to a passing homeless man and then walking across the street toward a grocery store.

“APD officer giving shoes to a homeless guy at Lindbergh Kroger,” the caption read. “He wasn’t allowed in the store without them.”

There was more backstory to this short interaction, which the APD shared on Facebook.

“The Atlanta Police Department’s Public Affairs Unit recently became aware of a post on social media of an Atlanta PD Officer giving shoes to an unknown barefoot man,” the police department wrote on Wednesday. “After looking into the incident, and getting the name of the officer, we learned that it was Zone 5 EW Officer S. Thomas.”

“Upon speaking with Officer Thomas about this incident, she said that while working her shift a few months ago, she noticed a male walking barefoot outside in the rain. She asked him if he needed some shoes and socks and he stated that he did.

“Officer Thomas left to get some footwear for the man, and returned, but unfortunately, the male she originally spoke to had left the location. She decided to keep the shoes in the trunk of her car in case she came across the male again.

“Soon after, while working an extra job at a local grocery store, she noticed a male outside of the location who was barefoot. Officer Thomas then went to her car, got the shoes, and gave them to the unsuspecting man.”

APD officer giving shoes to a homeless guy at Lindbergh Kroger. He wasn’t allowed in the store without them. ?? pic.twitter.com/uz0M8oYUW6

— Atlanta Uncensored (@ATLUNCENSORED) August 3, 2021

“Officer Thomas did not have her BWC recording at the time (as it is not required for general citizen encounters) and was not looking for publicity on this day,” the APD explained.

“She was not aware that she was being filmed during her act of kindness. She simply saw a person with a need that she could fill and did so.

“Officers with APD routinely show care and consideration to the citizens of the City of Atlanta and perform random acts of kindness without seeking applause. These interactions never make the news. These deeds are just part of any given day for our men and women in blue.”

The post concluded with a thank you note to the person who recorded and posted the kind moment, as it’s a genuine example of true kindness in action — the kind of thing that goes on most days, we just don’t always get to see it.

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