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Photo of Detroit cop helping man with tie at courthouse goes viral

Cpl. Eric O’Neal’s quiet act of kindness didn’t go unnoticed

tie Detroit Police Department tie

Detroit Police Department

By Suzie Ziegler

DETROIT — A Detroit officer’s quiet act of kindness went viral Tuesday after a photo of the encounter was shared online.

The image shows Cpl. Eric O’Neal helping a young man learn to tie a tie, according to WDIV.

O’Neal, a K-9 unit officer, said that he had been at court for an exam. As O’Neal was leaving, he noticed a young man in need of help.

“This young man came up and said, ‘Does anybody know how to tie a tie?’,” O’Neal recalled. “Initially I had tried to tie it on him. It never works that way. So, I put it around my neck, tied it. I put it around his neck and he kind of stood there for a second. So, I flipped his collar up, got it squared away. Showed him what part of the tie to pull to make it longer.”

A witness from inside the courthouse took a photo of the moment and shared it online.

“It was almost a little embarrassing that they got a picture that I didn’t even see where it came from. I just kind of heard about it after,” O’Neal told WDIV.

According to O’Neal, the young man’s mother later waved the officer down and thanked him.

“Something as simple as that – to be able to help – officers on this job do it every day,” O’Neal said.

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