Larry DePrimo, NYPD Cop, Buys Homeless Man Boots (PHOTO)

[charlie and algernon]

"I had two pairs of wool winter socks and combat boots, and I was cold," DePrimo, 25, said Wednesday, recalling the night of Nov. 14, when he encountered an unidentified, shoeless man on the sidewalk on Seventh Avenue near 44th Street.

DePrimo offered to get him socks and shoes.

"I never had a pair of shoes," the man replied, according to DePrimo, who's assigned to the Sixth Precinct and has been on the force nearly three years.

The officer walked to a Skechers store on 42nd Street and shelled out $75 for insulated winter boots and thermal socks. He returned to the man, knelt down and put the footwear on him.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/larry-deprimo-nypd-cop-gives-homeless-boots_n_2209178.html

[sabrina 1]

1. That is a very nice story.

It's really good to see a cop helping people.

[dballance]

2. It's so nice to see something like this rather than the NYPD pepper-spraying someone /eom

[datasuspect]

3. the guy will probably trade them for hooch or crack

joking.

[longship]

5. Not very funny, my friend.

The cop did a good thing so the homeless guy doesn't die this winter.

[datasuspect]

6. i've been drinking with homeless guys since i was in college

the same homeless guys.

they're tougher than both of us put together.

and most of them need residential mental health care.

and i know it isn't right to say, but most homeless people i've ever known would gladly appreciate the crack, smack, or booze over any food or clothing.

unless they are seriously mentally ill, they try to keep feeding addiction.

as far as shoes go: park in a major city overnight with some nice boots on the passenger seat or have UPS leave a package on your doorstep.

that's called "coming up" in the invisible world.

[longship]

7. Still not humorous. nt

[datasuspect]

10. great pain creates a greater capacity for humor.

i've been where that guy is (not the cop). the only difference is i would have stole your shoes.

[JoePhilly]

8. Or his shoes were stolen.

Maybe the cop should have let him freeze.

[datasuspect]

9. the cop was a rookie

any cop worth his salt with time on the job woulda rousted the guy.

i bet they're giving dudley do-right shit in the squadroom as we speak for being a softie.

[JoePhilly]

11. A bet you will never have to pay on.

Perhaps we should all stop doing nice things for folks like this guy ... after all, they don't use the shoes, blankets, or money that we give them, effectively.

That your position?

[datasuspect]

12. i've been homeless

it isn't as noble as you might think. but like i said to dude upthread, i would have stolen your shit if i needed some shoes. right off your damn feet.

makes for glurgey facebook though.

[JoePhilly]

13. Do you have a learning disability?

I did not say being homeless was "noble" ... not sure where you came up with that.

I did ask if you thought that those of us who encounter homeless people should STOP giving them shoes, blankets, or money.

You neglected to answer that direct question.

BTW, I grew up in Philly, lower middle class, at best. If you tried to steal my shoes off my feet, you would have needed a very good Dental plan.

[datasuspect]

17. yes, i do have a learning disability - u got a problem with that tough guy?

and chicago blue collar would mop up the floor with philly lower class any day of the week.

any fake tough guy i ever met from philly would fold up like a gentle flower in about 2 seconds.

how in the fuck can you admit to being low class?

[MrBig]

4. Stories like this are important

It's important people remember that you simply should not stereotype an entire group of people with a single description. I remember reading the very vitriolic comments during the Trayvon Martin shooting and the Dr. Henry Louis Gates arrest that were directed not just at the cops in those specific cases, but to cops generally - as a profession and as people.

Stories like this remind us that those generalized comments simply don't hold up.

[TorchTheWitch]

15. Thank you

The bigotry against police officers that has always been allowed on DU has always really pissed me off. It's so obviously bigotry, yet the same common excuses made for bigots concerning other groups are used with police officers here and somehow the people that do it are blind to that.

[question everything]

14. Beautiful! (nt)

[TorchTheWitch]

16. this story really gets to me

Bless your extraordinarily kind soul, Officer DePrimo!

If only we lived in a society where this kind of thing was so common that it wouldn't be a story at all. It's people like this that are exactly the kind of politicians every society desperately needs.