When this homeless man tried to shave his beard using a puddle, the police officer who was nearby instantly reached out to assist him.
Jill Metiva Schafer was about to leave Comerica Park when she witnessed a beautiful scene unfold before her. A homeless man on the side of the road was struggling to shave on his own until a Detroit cop came over to give him a hand.
She took a picture of the touching moment and decided to upload it on her Facebook.
“What a great Detroit cop!! This is right outside Comerica park. The game was a rainout but this officer went way above and beyond to help this man shave!!!” she wrote.
To capture the moment of kindness on camera was something that Jill didn’t want to pass on because she believes that the photo could help people see cops in a new light, considering that they usually get a bad rep in the news.
“I took the picture because I thought it was such a kind, unselfish thing for an officer to do,” Jill told “Good Morning America.” “With all the negativity that police officers get, I wanted to show them in a positive light.”
According to 7 Action News, the police officer in the viral photos is Jeremy Thomas, who joined the Detroit Police Department three years ago. As it turns out, helping people was nothing new to the cop. When asked about becoming a police officer, he said:
“Just the need to help people. I was a volunteer firefighter before this, and it’s just been something I like to do, help people.”
The police officer, who is assigned to Downtown Services for the police department, said that he saw a woman and her daughter give the homeless man, Stanley Nelson, 62, a handout with a razor, shaving cream, and a bottle of water.
After a while, a worker at the park told him that the man was trying to use rainwater to shave his beard. When Officer Thomas came over, he saw that Stanley was rinsing a disposable razor using a puddle.
“He had shaving cream on his hands, his coat, his face, his eyes.” the officer said. He approached him and said, “Excuse me, sir,” and the man responded, “I’ll leave. I’ll leave.”
Officer Thomas then assured the man that he didn’t have to leave and said that he just wanted to help him shave.
The homeless man was deeply touched by cop’s compassionate act.
“That was beautiful what he did and God is gonna bless him for doing that for me because he didn’t have to do that,” Stanley said.
“What he did for me, that was alright. I really appreciate that because, you know, I’m going through my thing and I feel bad about myself, you know, but I’m gonna be alright,” he added.
With their story gaining a lot of attention online, the cop has a message that he wants to impart to everyone who reads about it.
“Just know that this could be you at any day,” he said. “Nobody is better than the other person. They may be in a better position in life, but use that opportunity to take care of somebody else when you can.”
We couldn’t agree more with the words of this kind man. The world needs more of this positivity, so don’t forget to share this story with your friends and family to spread the love!