Woman expected confrontation when cop stopped man digging through trash — but his next move stunned her
Even the simplest amount of kindness we offer sometimes can become a shining example to many around us. We might not even realize our efforts’ value, but it leave a lasting impression on the receiver and those who have witnessed the act. In 2016, a Mesa police officer, Kent Green, was able to share this lasting impression on a man in need and on a stranger who spotted his act of kindness, per Runner’s World. A woman named Jenny Crider spotted the officer speaking to a man digging through the trash, and when she thought he would ask him to move away, she was surprised to see the result of their encounter and shared it on Facebook.
The officer spotted the man digging through the trash and approached him, engaging in a conversation. “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. His initial act was to stop the man from digging through the trash for a valid reason. “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. It can end badly,” Green mentioned, per the outlet.
Green also noticed that the man could use a pair of shoes. The officer, who was an ultramarathoner and ran 70 to 80 miles per week back then, often used his running shoes for training only for 4 to 6 weeks. He mentioned that the Arizona summer was no joke. “You can pretty much boil an egg on the concrete,” the officer remarked. He decided to do something small and kind for the man. Crider was watching and snapped a picture, which she posted. “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,” she remarked. The picture captured the officer and the man speaking while the latter tried the shoes on.
The Mesa Police Department reposted the picture and revealed, as an act of kindness, Green kept some of his running shoes in the trunk of his car while patrolling. It was elaborated, “Shoes that you and I would wear for a year, he can only use for weeks or months, depending on the miles he puts on them. The shoes are like new when they are past their competitive life. If he finds someone in need and the shoe fits, you guessed it, they get a new pair of shoes.”
That time, the fortunate person was the man digging through the trash. Green mentioned that his and several other officers’ gestures often went unnoticed, but that time, it became a spectacle of inspiration. “It’s the simple, Christlike acts like this that give me hope in this world,” Crider wrote. Inspired by his simple act, many people offered to contribute to help. Green remarked gratefully. “It’s been overwhelmingly positive, humbling and just awesome.”