25 Jul Cop Is Recorded Shaving A Homeless Man In A Parking Lot, But It Was For A Heartwarming Reason

We live in a world where it can be easy to take our brave service people for granted. It’s only when things go wrong – whether it be through crime, an accident, illness, or even a natural disaster – that their true value becomes apparent. I’ll never stop being grateful to the paramedics who helped my mom after she took a nasty fall. Without them, she’d have been paralyzed.

However, not all emergencies are life-threatening in the traditional sense of the word. For some people, like a boy whose ‘friends’ didn’t turn up to his birthday party, they can carry out everyday acts of heroism that remind us that there’s still a lot of good in this world. And the most recent example of this happened when a homeless man tried to land a job at McDonald’s.

Unfortunately, homelessness is an epidemic in the modern world, and despite prejudiced assumptions about people without a roof over their heads, many end up on the streets through no fault of their own. But without an address and any money, it can be extremely difficult, sometimes impossible, to change their situation, and this was the case for Phil when he tried to land a job.

Unlike a lot of companies, McDonald’s is willing to offer jobs to people who are homeless, but because it is a restaurant, they cannot accept applicants with facial hair that’s too unkempt. So when Phil went into a Tallahassee McDonald’s looking for work, the manager told him that his application would only be considered if he was able to shave his beard.

Thankfully, Officer Carlson of the Tallahassee Police Department was on hand to save the day. While Phil was in possession of a razor, it was broken and he did not have a mirror on hand to shave before returning to the McDonald’s.

Not wanting Phil to miss out on the chance to change his life for the better, when Phil asked Officer Carlson if he knew how to fix his razor, he realized that the best way he could help Phil was to buy a new razor and shave his face himself.

This everyday act of heroism was recorded by a passerby who wondered what the officer was doing shaving a civilian in a parking lot. After Officer Carlson finished shaving Phil, the woman followed him into a nearby gas station and offered to buy him a drink.

Once inside, she asked the officer why he was shaving the man. He told her that when he was in McDonald’s, he heard the manager tell Phil that he wouldn’t be able to start working at the restaurant until he shaved his beard.

After the incredible incident was witnessed, the woman told her mother who passed it onto the police department, writing:

“My daughter just sent me this picture and called to tell me the story, I had to share… [She] went to the gas station and saw this officer shaving a homeless man’s beard. A minute later the officer went into the store and Hannah walked in after him and saw him cleaning himself up because he was hot and sweaty. She offered to buy him a drink and got talking.”

“Apparently the officer was at McDonald’s next door and this gentleman went in looking for a job. He was told they wouldn’t hire him unless he shaved his beard. So the officer went and got some clippers and shaved the man’s beard so he could go back and get a job! I am so proud to live in a community where our deputies and officers are such wonderful people. Good job Tallahassee Police Department!!! “

This story was accompanied by a video of the touching incident which is featured below: 

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Needless to say, the story was a sensation on the social networking website and to date, the video has been viewed over 146K thousand times and shared by over 1.5K people, many of whom had something to say about Officer Carlson’s kindness.

“What an amazing example of an Officer who is truly deserving of his badge… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than [this],’” wrote Facebook user Alex England.

Other people echoed my sentiments about McDonald’s offering Phil a chance despite his homelessness.

“It’s also awesome how [McDonald’s] was willing to give this guy another chance on this condition,” added Jacklyn JBurkett. “Thank you TPD for showing the world what it really means to protect and to serve.”

Phil was also praised on the social media website for doing everything in his power to get off the streets and change his life.

“[Some] good cops out there that will help somebody that’s homeless get a job and go out of his way to cut his beard come on now that’s not just a cop that is up I’m pretty proud of that homeless guy he asked for a job instead of just saying homeless with no job and no money [sic],” wrote Heidi Jo Gay.

However, even once the video had gone viral, the story itself was far from over and people wanted to know what happened next.

Rachel Gritz asked the question on everyone’s mind, writing, “Did he get the job!?”

In response to this, the Tallahassee Police Department shared a promising update from Officer Carlson about Phil’s situation:

“This evening I was going to dinner with the family and my kids pointed out Phil (and his friend Lonnie) sitting under the flyover on Thomasville Rd. After dinner we decided to pick up a few cheeseburgers from McDonald’s and stop by to talk with Phil. Phil was surprised and excited to see me. He pulled out the Tallahassee Democrat front page, that had me and him on it, and showed it to me.”

“He then told me he had talked to the manager at McDonald’s and he was set to get a job but he still needed to get his ID/SS card. I then told Phil I had good news about that and told him I had been contacted by Senator Marco Rubio’s office here in town. They stated they had also seen the story and wanted to help Phil get his ID and Social Security card.

“I told Phil when I got to work on Thursday I would print out the paperwork they emailed to me and bring it by for Phil to fill out. They also said Phil could come by their office and they would help him with the process. Phil was super excited and assured me he would be ready for Thursday.

“Fingers crossed and hopefully we will have another update maybe on Friday.”

So while this story has yet to have an official happy ending, I think it’s safe to say that Officer Carlson helped land Phil a life-changing job at McDonald’s. Hopefully, this story will inspire others to help out people in need. After all, it’s a testament to the fact that even in the smallest act of kindness can, quite literally, change someone’s life for the better.

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