By Suzie Ziegler
ATLANTA — An Atlanta police officer’s act of kindness was shared far and wide on Wednesday. A video posted on Instagram shows the officer taking a pair of sneakers from her car and giving them to a shoeless man.
Atlanta Police identified the officer as Officer S. Thomas. In a Facebook post, police said Thomas had bought the shoes a few months ago for a barefoot homeless man she had encountered while on her shift. After speaking with the man, Thomas left to buy him shoes, but he was gone when she returned. According to police, Thomas decided to keep the shoes in her trunk just in case she saw him again.
Later, while Thomas was working an extra job at a grocery store, she saw a man who was barefoot. That’s when a passerby began filming as Thomas gave the shoes to the man. According to police, Thomas was not aware she was being filmed.
“She simply saw a person with a need that she could fill and did so,” police said. “We thank the person who filmed this kind act and who took the time to share with others on social media.”
Instagram account ATL Uncensored posted the video. It had been viewed nearly 70,000 times in 24 hours.