Ларри Депримо Нью-Йорский полицейскйи купил ботинки бомжу

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Нью-Йоркский полицейский в считанные дни стал «звездой» интернета просто потому, что пожалел бездомного и подарил ему зимнюю обувь и теплые носки. Эту историю увидела туристка Дженнифер Фостер; она сняла момент передачи подарка бродяге и описала увиденный ею случай в сети. Позднее рассказ и фотография дошли до полицейского департамента, и были опубликованы на их страничке в Facebook.

По словам туристки, 14 ноября она гуляла со своим мужем по Таймс-сквер. Возле одного из магазинов сидел разутый бродяга с порванными штанинами и просил у прохожих мелочь. Девушка решила поделиться монетками с бездомным, когда внезапно увидела полицейского, дарящего сапоги и носки этому одинокому, дрожавшему от холода человеку.

Щедрый сотрудник полиции Ларри Депримо решил зайти в ближайший магазин Skechers и купил там за 75 долларов США пару теплых ботинков 12 размера и две пары шерстяных носков. Затем он вернулся к бездомному, и, присев, положил ему на колени подарок. «Давай наденем их на тебя», — спокойно предложил Депримо. Он помог обуться бродяге, после чего встал и пошел дальше, не зная, что его снимали на камеру.

Как рассказал менеджер магазина Skechers Хосе Кано, бродяга был удивлен неожиданному жесту представителя правопорядка. «На его лице появилась улыбка до ушей, как будто ему вручили миллион долларов», — добавил он. Кано сделал скидку полицейскому, снизив цену до 75 долларов, узнав, кому предназначаются эти вещи. Чек от покупки он до сих пор хранит в своем кармане в память об этом удивительном случае.

Оригинал новости:

A simple act of kindness turned a city cop into an Internet sensation, but he insists he was just doing his job.
Larry DePrimo was hailed as an officer and a gentleman after an Arizona tourist immortalized him in a photo giving a barefoot homeless man a pair of boots.

The picture snapped in Times Square on Nov. 14 was posted Tuesday on the NYPD’s Facebook page. By Thursday, the image had been shared more than 133,000 times and “Liked” by more than 409,000 people.

“When you’re a police officer, you’re just out there to help people,” said DePrimo, 25. “And in situations like this, you just do what you have to do.”

The young cop, who has been on the job for two years, said he didn’t even know someone had taken the picture.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “I didn’t really expect anything of it.”
SHOES30N_1
Todd Maisel/New York Daily News
Police Officer Larry DePrimo receives a gift of cuff links from the police commissioner at One Police Plaza on Thursday.

DePrimo, who is normally assigned to the Sixth Precinct in Greenwich Village, said he was manning a post at W. 44th St. and Broadway when he heard someone chuckle at the homeless man.
“I looked over and someone was laughing at this elderly gentleman who had no socks (and) no shoes,” he said. “You could see the blisters from a distance.”

DePrimo — who lives with his parents in Holbrook, L.I. — said he felt the bitter cold seeping through two layers of winter socks and his combat boots.

“It was a very, very cold night,” he said. “I could only imagine how cold that pavement was.”

So, he asked the man if he had anything to cover his feet.

“It’s okay, Sir, I’ve never had a pair of shoes,” the man replied. “But God bless you.”

As the mystery man strolled away down Seventh Ave., DePrimo caught up to him and asked him his shoe size before walking into a Skechers on W. 42nd St.

“I’d like to buy a pair of boots, something that will last a while,” DePrimo told a worker. “I don’t care what the price is.”

A few minutes later, the kindhearted cop bought a $100 pair of all-weather boots, size 12. A store manager applied his employee discount to lower the price.
BOOTS
Sam Costanza for New York Daily News
Skechers store clerk Jose Cano holds the type of boots Police Officer Larry DePrimo bought for a homeless man.

“It was really inspiring to see someone take five minutes out of their work day to do something small that can become something big,” said the manager, Jose Cano, 28.
DePrimo carried the boots and a pair of thermal socks to the man, who was still standing outside.
“He just smiled from ear to ear,” DePrimo recalled. “It was absolutely amazing.”

That’s when Jennifer Foster, who was visiting from Florence, Ariz., with her husband, captured the moment with a cell phone camera — a snapshot that went viral two weeks later.

“The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching,” Foster wrote with her Facebook post.

Freddie Torres of Spanish Harlem said he has seen the recipient of DePrimo’s generosity.

“I give him a couple of bucks because he’s going through the garbage,” said the 61-year-old photographer. “He’s in rags, but he doesn’t beg. He’s a very quiet person.”

DePrimo called the experience “humbling” and said he keeps the receipt for the boots tucked in his bullet-resistant vest.

“I think it’s an important reminder,” he said. “You see something like this and you remember that people have it worse.”

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly gave him another memento: A set of NYPD commissioner cuff links.
DePrimo’s extraordinary gesture left John Harry, who is homeless, in awe.

“That’s mighty nice of that cop,” said Harry, 65. “Last time someone gave me new shoes, I think I was 10 years old.”

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