These cops' kind gesture for one homeless man showed a great deal of sole.
A photo shared on Facebook earlier this month shows a homeless man in Lawrence, Indiana, getting new shoes from officers of the Lawrence Police Department. According to the Facebook post, the man, who is about 7 feet tall and has size 17 feet, desperately needed new shoes.
After the police department learned of his need, officers reached out to NBA team the Indiana Pacers, who donated shoes of the perfect size, which had originally been made for center Roy Hibbert, who now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“It was an emotional moment, according to the officers there," Deputy Chief of Police Gary Woodruff told InsideEdition.com of the moment the man received his new shoes. "There wasn't a dry eye in the place, from the officers to the gentleman.”
Woodruff told WTHR that a reserve officer, who had seen the homeless man before at a Waffle House, decided to buy him breakfast and learn more about the man's situation.
"As he sat down with the man, they spoke about life and just how things are. He discovered the man had lost his house in a fire recently," Woodruff told the source.
As the two bonded, the officer asked if the man needed anything. That's when the man brought up shoes.
“The gentleman showed the officer his shoes.The soles were completely blown out; they looked almost like flip-flops,” Woodruff told InsideEdition.com.
The officer wanted to help but the challenge was to get the shoes in the right size. So the officer consulted others in the department and another officer had the bright idea of reaching out the Indiana Pacers.
"[The Pacers] said they would love to help out and, in fact, they had a pair of brand new high-top basketball shoes formerly assigned to Roy Hibbert and they were willing to donate those," Woodruff told WTHR.
The reserve officer, accompanied by others in his department, presented the shoes to the shocked man. Woodruff said he's proud of the officers who made the gesture happen, however they didn't want any special shoutouts. They felt it was simply their duty.
“They said, 'We're not doing this for any recognition. We're doing this because it's the right thing to do,'” Woodruff told InsideEdition.com.
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