A police officer shares meal with homeless man, and a post about their encounter has gone viral on Facebook. The incident took place July 16. The police officer, who is from Florida, joined the homeless man outside a gas station while eating his meal, according to The Daily Mail.
The officer's name is Sgt. Erica Hay of the Ocala Police Department in Florida. Apparently, the police officer shares meal with homeless man after she saw him sitting alonet a petrol station curb earlier this month. She decided to buy the man some food and coffee, reported The Independent.
After Erica gave the man his meal, they both ate their meals together.
A citizen named TiAnne Greene captured the moment as the police officer shares meal with homeless man. Her Facebook post July 16 has since gone viral with more than 2,100 shares as of Monday, according to The Huffington Post.
I don't know this officer, but, I admire her today and everyday. It appeared that she purchased this gentleman's...
Posted by TiAnna S. Greene on Thursday, July 16, 2015
Greene captioned the post, "I don't know this officer, but, I admire her today and everyday. Although I was only blessed to witness less than 2 minutes of her kindness that definitely came from the heart, it truly made my morning!!"
A screenshot of Greene's post was shared by the Ocala Police Department on Instagram last week, WSOC-TV reported.
"Sgt. Erica Hay caught in an act of kindness by a citizen," they wrote in their post. "She bought & shared a meal with a homeless citizen - Serving citizens with a heart!!"
Hay was praised by many for doing such a compassionate act, but the officer simply said that she was treating the homeless man like anyone else.
"He's just another person, just like I am. I know I enjoy company when I eat. I just sat down and ate with him," Hay said. "He's ... just like any other citizen. He's homeless, he might need our assistance more ... but he needs us just like everyone else does."
Hay also told HuffPost that she found the man after she gotten out of a meeting. When she went to pick get breakfast for herself, she saw the man and decided to sit down with him while eating. The two chatted nicely about the homeless man's sad background and daily struggles.
Greene, the woman who shared the photo as the police officer shares meal with homeless man, said she was about to take her 7-year-old daughter to summer camp when she saw the two and took the photos.
She said it helped her teach her daughter a powerful lesson:
"I looked over and said to [my daughter], 'See? That's a real good sign of compassion -- that you care for other people no matter where they are in their lives,'" Greene told HuffPost. "It was a real teachable moment for her. It showed [her] that not all law enforcement are bad."
