No one seems to be catching on to what possibly happened. The gentleman's reaction (who received the boots) was perhaps not totally driven by the photo. He was made a target by the officer. The Cop's heart may have been in the right place, but shiny new boots would certainly make this person a target for theft and a mugging by the less scruplious of his peers. It could easily put his life in more danger. So I don't blame him for selling them asap. Even if the money went towards feeding a bad habit. If you want to help someone in this position, regardless of how they arrived, it's best to offer food they can easily consume, and gently worn but serviceable clothing. Also you might try to direct them to a shelter. Money is not the best kind of help, except for the ones who are professional beggars. ie: the ones who get in their car and drive away. They may be doing all they can do to feed hungry dependents. Please remember, the best criticism is well thought out constructive criticism. Harsh judgement without knowing someone's personal situation is a good sign of a simple lack of thinking skills. If you think these visible minority people should be off the streets and receive better assistance, then why not seek out a local program that strives to help, get involved and better understand what it is your judging..... A few people who have replied here reflect their understanding and involvement with the homeless, and we could learn from them. As far as the man's comment about getting a piece of the pie from the photo; he's just reacting in the same way he sees most of corporate America and anyone else who is better off than he....gimme, gimme, gimme. It's pretty easy to go spew off against someone who is basically homeless and utterly defenceless. If we have a problem with his attitude we should be directing our thoughts towards those who are charged with setting examples for the less fortunate? Or are we cowards in the face of authority? if you're a professional photographer and you capture an image of a recognizable, more successful person and it is published somewhere, it is quite conceivable that the subject may benefit somehow from that exposure. I think it is quite astute of this homeless or beggar person to recognize and ask if he too might benefit from the exposure. After all, this happened in America, right?

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And in many places it has been found that the "homeless" beggars are not from the area where they are begging and after a few days of begging go back to an apartment with nice furnishings! I read an article a few months ago about some towns that were investigating some of these and found one of the "beggars" would walk away and when he thought no one was looking got into his fancy car from a different county and drove off!! Just looking for money without work!! And obviously very successful at it!!

So many people think it's a matter of choice and everyone has an equal chance at success in America. Those are very simplistic answers to a very complicated problem. There are many people 'not making' in America and just as many reasons as there are people. You have not walked in his shoes, especially since he doesn't have any, so you cannot speak for him. I've worked in social services for over 45 years and have heard it all (almost) believe me, no one wants to live shoeless and homeless. I have never once heard any one say - my goal is to live on the street and accept handouts from stangers. The answers to this problem is many faceted and will never change if people are looking for easy answers.

When I said 'choice' yes I was being simplistic. My point is that many of these people have a mental illness which leads them to live this way. I guess it is at least feasible that Jeffrey Hillman was genuinely scared of being harmed by a fellow vagrant who wanted his nice new shoes, but he didn’t sell them and buy cheaper shoes more in keeping with the rest of his garb. He returned to being shoeless. That was a matter of choice any way you look at it. Even if that choice was driven by an unbalanced mind.