Deputy Lets Homeless Man Walk Miles in His Shoes

A routine panhandling call turned into a random act of kindness with a homeless Palm Beach County man on the receiving end.

It seems officers were called out Monday to a local gas station to deal with “an unwanted guest begging for money,” the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page states. When deputies arrived on the scene, the post’s author noted they realized the older man was likely homeless due to the state of his clothes “and the fact that he had carpet tied to each foot acting as shoes.”

After a brief exchange, the deputy asked the man for his shoe size. A K9 deputy overheard the exchange, walked to his truck and pulled out “an old pair of $200 boots and gives them to him,” the deputy wrote. “Just happens they both have small 9 ½ feet.”

See Also:

• Photos: Cops Rescue 9 Fuzzy Ducklings
• Deputy’s Act of Kindness Results in New Bike for Child After Crash

That act of kindness not only touched the deputy who wrote about his fellow officer’s generosity on Facebook, it also made quite an impression on the recipient.

“The guy instantly put a smile on his face,” the posting deputy wrote. “Just goes to show you, we all aren’t bad guys. We do protect and serve.”

Law enforcement officers around the state have been proving just that in abundance in recent weeks. Officers in Lakeland recently rescued 9 ducklings from a storm drain while a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy stepped up to help get a little girl who had been in an accident a new bike.

Why go to such lengths to “serve?”

Clearwater Police Officer Christian Zarra shed some light on the matter last year after trudging through mangroves to save a bird that had been struck by a car.

“It’s the little things that keep you going,” he said.

Photo courtesy of the Palm Beach County Facebook page

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