A HOMELESS, SHOELESS man who, in a random act of kindness, was given a pair of boots by a New York Policeman said he was “grateful” for them but has “hidden them” because they are “worth a lot of money.”
According to the New York Times, 54-year-old Jeffrey Hillman was seen over the weekend on the Upper West Side wandering the streets with no shoes again because he “could lose his life” for wearing them.
The homeless man’s bare, blistered feet became famous after Jennifer Foster from Arizona posted a picture on the NYPD Facebook page of Officer Lawrence DePrimo giving Hillman a pair of boots.
She wrote that as she was about to approach the man who was begging for money an NYPD stepped in:
Right when I was about to approach, one of your officers came up behind him. The officer said, ‘I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let’s put them on and take care of you.’The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man. The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching.
Officer DePrimo, 25, has been widely celebrated after the story went viral and told the New York Times, Hillman was the most polite gentleman he had met, adding that his face lit up at the sight of the boots. Officer DePrimo said he offered him a cup of coffee, but “as soon as the boots were on him, he went on his way, and I just went back to my post.”
Hillman is shocked by all of the attention he is now receiving but said he wished there were more people like Officer DePrimo in the world.
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