'I just want to help': Atlanta officer seen in viral video giving shoes to homeless man tells her story

ATLANTA - The Atlanta police officer seen in a video giving a homeless man a pair of shoes in a now-viral video shared her emotional reason she helped the man.

Officer Sheretta Thomas came across the man who she saw without shoes back in April. She asked the man if he was planning to be around later and went to go get the man a pair.

"When I came back, the man was gone. So, I kept the shoes in my trunk and just drove around the area to make sure that... what I really wanted was to make sure I find him to get him the shoes, but he was nowhere to be found," Officer Thomas said.

The next day she was working an extra job and saw another gentleman who needed shoes. 

Officer Thomas said she wasn’t aware anyone was watching 

"There’s never a time that I don’t think about others due to the fact that I haven’t always been able to give," Officer Shereeta Thomas said fighting back tears. "Now that I’m able, I just want to help."

The officer said she does this time of things all the time. She said she is a "sneakerhead" and tries to keep a pair of shoes or clothing in her trunk. 

She said she had been with the department for three years and before then she worked at the jail, so she has seen the price of indigence. She said she didn't do this for the attention.

"I was just being kind and doing what I enjoy doing and that's helping people who are really in need," she said.

Atlanta police said Officer Thomas’ actions reflect a level of kindness that comes from within.

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