Police Officer Notices A Man Digging Through Trash For Food, Stops Him And Buys Him Lunch

September 8, 2015

A 35-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department is being praised on social media after photos of him buying a homeless man lunch from Chipotle were shared on Facebook.

Facebook / Chicago Police Dept.

According to Rachel Mitchell, who posted the pair of photos, Sergeant B Hagarty was sitting at a window seat at Chipotle and noticed a homeless man digging through a trash can on the sidewalk. Hagarty then knocked on the window until he had the homeless man's attention.

"Through the glass he asked the man if he was hungry," Mitchell wrote. "The man nodded yes, and the cop motioned for him to come inside. The cop told him to set what belongings he had next to him and told him to order what he wanted because he would pay for it. They stood in line together and at the end the cop paid for the man's meal. A simple hand shake was exchanged between them and they parted ways like it was no big deal. Touched my heart so much, with all the (crap) police are getting these days it reminds me there’s so much more good out there than anyone ever wants to give credit. If everyone did something simple like this every day the world would be a better place."

I simply can't imagine how bad it must be to be so hungry you have to dig through garbage in broad daylight in front of windows full of curious faces. So when this great man bought this other man a lunch, he gave him much more than a meal. He gave him his humanity back, if only briefly, but I guarantee it meant the world to him at that moment.

Thank you, Sergeant B Hagarty. Thank you for leading by example.