Citizens Are Winning the Battle Over Cops and Cameras
Fri, 11/30/2012 - 22:26
by: John Grant
Jennifer Foster, a tourist from Florence, Arizona, was walking in Times Square on a cold night in November and came across a New York City police officer giving a barefoot homeless man a pair of all-weather boots he had purchased out of his own pocket. Moved, she took out her cell phone and snapped a picture.
Jennifer Foster's cell phone image of Officer Lawrence DePrimo and a homeless man on Times SquareJennifer Foster's cell phone image of Officer Lawrence DePrimo and a homeless man on Times Square
If this officer had, instead, decided to beat this homeless man with a baton, it’s likely Ms Foster would have been intimidated, harassed or even arrested for doing what she did. In this case, the laudable actions of Officer Lawrence DePrimo went viral and he‘s become a national hero with an appearance on Good Morning America and more. It was unplanned good PR based on authentic human compassion. The officer reportedly was not aware of the tourist with the cell phone camera. He was acting as "New York's finest."
