Viral snapshot captures Texas police officer’s kindness to homeless veteran
Officer: ‘It’s not just about putting people in jail’
It’s a simple snapshot that has become a popular and poignant social media sensation.
Earlier this week, Texas police officer Brandon Ferrante was photographed paying to put a homeless veteran up in a hotel.
The good deed unfolded Tuesday night when Ferrante, a four-year veteran of the Frisco Police Department, and his partner got a call to investigate reports of a man sitting dangerously close to a busy freeway in a suburb north of Dallas. Upon arrival, the officers found the man clinging to a barbed-wire fence just off the road.
Ferrante told KDFW-TV in Dallas that the man looked exhausted from being out in the cold, wind and rain.
“I mean he was soaked to the bone,” the officer said.
The unidentified man told Ferrante that he was a homeless combat veteran and was planning to walk to a town 25 miles away.
“At that point, I said we need to take care of this guy and we need to take care of him now,” said Ferrante, the son of an Air Force veteran.
They drove the man to a nearby hotel where Ferrante footed the bill for the man to stay the night. The officer’s partner snapped a picture of the pair at the check-in. The photo has received nearly 7,000 likes and more than 1,100 comments on the Frisco Police Department’s Facebook page.
“Although we have had social media posts go viral in the past, this is by far one of the most notable,” Sgt. Jeff Inmon told Yahoo News. “The response we have had is a direct indicator of how our citizens appreciate it when officers show compassion towards others and help them in their time of need.”
Ferrante and his partner also gave the man meal money and information about a local charity.
“It’s not just about putting people in jail, it’s about helping them out,” Ferrante said. “That’s my job, that’s what I’m out here doing.”
Jason Sickles is a national reporter for Yahoo News. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles).
