The Christmas Spirit Exemplified in One of New York's Finest

Aimee Herd : Dec 5, 2012
FOXNews.com

"Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." –Matt.25:40

(New York City)—One man's spontaneous act of kindness was caught in a photo which then went viral last week, after being shared—along with the story—on Facebook. (Photo: Jennifer Foster/NYPD)

The man, a member of the NYPD, is Officer Larry DePrimo.

The compassionate hero shared what happened in an interview on FOX and Friends last Friday.

Amid the frigid November evening near Time Square, Officer DePrimo had noticed a homeless man with no shoes or socks on, whom some others had been ridiculing because of his shoeless state.

When DePrimo offered him a pair of socks, the homeless man replied, "No thank you officer, God bless you."

"Here it is, it's freezing cold out, and he has the heart to say 'God bless' [to] me," recalled DePrimo, "I just knew I had to help him." (Photo: FOXNews.com)

Help him, the officer did—ducking into a nearby Sketchers store, he bought the homeless man a pair of all-weather boots. After hearing for whom he was buying them, the Sketchers worker gave DePrimo the employee discount.

As the officer knelt down next to the man, he didn't notice the tourist couple standing nearby who had heard everything, and snapped the photo that has now been seen all over the internet.

According to the woman, Jennifer Foster, DePrimo told the homeless man as he helped him, "I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let's put them on and take care of you."

DePrimo has received some unsolicited recognition for his good deed—but his greatest reward lies in the exhortation of Jesus that if you do this for the "least of these My brethren, you've done it unto Me."