A Texas police officer said he wasn't looking for any recognition when he bent down and gave a local homeless man a pair of boots a few weeks ago.
Cpl. Jeremy Walsh, from Odessa, Texas, told local news site Odessa American that he noticed the man -- known to the area as A.J. but identified by media outlets as Anthony Young -- had been wearing a pair of battered boots with worn-out soles for some time.
“I had some extra boots at my house and they’re actually a size too small and I found A.J. and saw if he wanted them,” Walsh told the outlet. “I figured he could use them a lot more than I can.”
The officer, an Army veteran, said it took a bit of convincing to get the self-reliant Young to accept the gift.
"A.J. had to do a little back and forth," Walsh told local station NewsWest 9. "I saw him today he said, 'I haven't forgotten about ya.' I said, 'It wouldn't be a gift if we were trading, bro.'"
Although it began as a private moment, the exchange became very public after a local snapped a photo of the touching exchange and posted it to Facebook. The image eventually made its way to the Odessa city government's page.
Odessa Police spokesman Cpl. Steve LeSueur told Odessa American the photo revealed a more hidden, positive side of the department.
“I think the public views police, unfortunately, as dealing with negative situations,” LeSueur told the site. “This is a different side of police work the public never sees.”