Mesa, Arizona police officer Kent Green takes his vow to protect and serve very seriously. So when he spotted a weary-looking man rummaging through the trash, he knew he had to make sure this man was safe.
According to Runner’s World, the man was looking through a dumpster for cans and bottles.
Green was less concerned about this man breaking the law and more concerned about this guy’s well-being. So, he asked the man to step away from the dumpster.
“We’ve had some deaths from people either falling asleep or camping out in a dumpster, or behind, and then the garbage vehicle comes out and it can end really badly,” Green said.
He noticed that this man had been on the streets since his shoes were so worn.
Green decided to head back over to his car and pull out a pair of his own old running shoes to give to the man to wear. Green is a runner and often has extra sneakers on him.
Green had no idea that he and the man were being watched. He had no idea that someone was documenting his act of kindness.
One of the complex’s residents, Jenny Crider, saw the whole thing.
She posted photos and a caption on the interaction which ended up going viral after the Mesa Police Department shared it.
“This man comes by our complex a few times a week collecting cans to earn money from recycling them. When I went to grab our mail, a police officer drove up and got out to talk to him. I honestly thought he was going to ask him to leave and stop going through the trash,” Crider wrote.
“When I came back home from getting the mail, the officer had brought out a nice, new pair of shoes to give to the man. It’s the simple, Christlike acts like this that give me hope in this world. Thank you Mesa Police for having such wonderful officers patrol the area!”
Green woke up the next day and realized he had gone viral after other people told him.
“I had no idea about that until I started getting text messages and messages from dispatch in the days after [the pictures were posted],” Green told AZ Family.
“We don’t do it for this, for gratification,” he said. “We’re not looking for the recognition. … We’re looking to do the right thing — the human thing.”
Green has been giving away his shoes for the past couple of years and goes through a pair of shoes every four to six weeks.
Green says his act of kindness is typical among his fellow officers who reach out in different ways.
“[Some] pack hygiene kits, they’ve bought hotel rooms for families, they’ve bought food, baby supplies,” Green explains. “It’s endless what goes unseen.”
Many people have since offered to donate shoes to Green in order to help with his efforts.
“It’s been overwhelmingly positive, humbling, and just awesome,” he explains.
“I just hope [this] brings a little positivity to police and what they do behind the scenes every day, every night. It’s not particular to Mesa, it’s not particular to Arizona. It’s everywhere.”
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