NYPD Cop Larry DePrimo's Kindness to Homeless Man a Facebook Viral Hit

In a city considered to be a cold, harsh place where people care only for themselves, a New York City police officer’s act of kindness toward a homeless man on a freezing day has been warming hearts. A tourist who posted a photo on Facebook has sparked a viral sensation.

Officer Larry DePrimo, 25, was seen putting a pair of socks and boots on a barefooted man in the vicinity of Times Square on Nov. 14. The generous act was captured by Jennifer Foster, a tourist from Arizona, using her cellphone camera. She then posted the photo of DePrimo crouching down with the unidentified homeless man on Facebook.

The picture was soon shared extensively by others and found its way to the NYPD Facebook page, where it received over 330,000 likes and over 84,000 shares as of Thursday morning.

Foster, who has been in Arizona law enforcement for 17 years, posted on Facebook:

“I was about to approach (the homeless man, when) 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.”

DePrimo, who is assigned to the West Village’s 6th Precinct, found out the man’s shoe size and proceeded to purchase the insulated boots and thermal socks from a nearby Sketchers shoe store for $75, according to the New York Times.

“It was freezing out and you could see the blisters on the man’s feet. I had two pairs of socks and I was still cold,” DePrimo told the Times, adding that when the man received the boots he “smiled from ear to ear. It was like you gave him a million dollars.”

According to DePrimo, the man told him he'd never had a pair of boots.