Homeless Man Behind Viral NYPD Photo Now Shoeless Again, Demanding ‘Piece of the Pie’

[Zundfolge]

source

NEW YORK (The Blaze/AP) — The New York City homeless man – whose gift of boots from an NYPD police officer became an online sensation last week – is back on the streets with no shoes.

The New York Times found him Sunday night wandering barefoot in Manhattan. The paper identified him as Jeffrey Hillman, formerly of South Plainfield, N.J.
Asked about the $100 all-weather boots Officer Larry DePrimo gave him on Nov. 14, Hillman says he’s hidden them because “they are worth a lot of money.”
He says he’s grateful for the gift, but he wants “a piece of the pie” because the photo was posted online “without permission.”
“I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission,” he added. “What do I get?”
Still, he was grateful.
“I appreciate what the officer did, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “I wish there were more people like him in the world.”
“I want to thank everyone that got onto this thing,” he continued to the Times. “I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. It meant a lot to me. And to the officer, first and foremost.”
So who, exactly, is Hilman? He told the Times he’s a veteran with two kids and is coy about how he got to this point in life:

Mr. Hillman said he was from South Plainfield, N.J. He said he joined the Army in 1978 and served as a “food service specialist” in the United States and Germany.
He produced a worn veteran’s identification card that confirmed his service.
Mr. Hillman said that he was honorably discharged after five years and that before he became homeless he worked in kitchens in New Jersey.
He has two children — Nikita, 22, and Jeffrey, 24 — but has had little contact with them since a visit three years ago, Mr. Hillman said.
He was reluctant to talk about how he ended up on the streets, staring blankly ahead when asked how his life went off course.
After a long pause, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know.”

Hillman, however, isn’t without family. The New York Post caught up with his relatives over the weekend who, despite knowing about the story and seeing Hillman’s picture — didn’t even realize it was him:

His brother, Kirk Hillman, looked stunned as he saw a copy of The Post with his youngest brother on the front page — and was left speechless.
Hillman’s wife told The Post she followed the story on TV — but never recognized the bedraggled beggar as her own brother-in law, Jeffrey Hillman.
“The last time we heard from him was maybe a year ago on New Year’s Day,” said Tish Hillman, who lives with Kirk in Allentown, Pa., where they’re leaders at Greater Shiloh Church.
[...]
How Jeffrey — the brother of a college professor and a church administrator — wound up sitting shoeless on that cold sidewalk remains a mystery.

An Arizona tourist snapped the photo of the officer presenting new boots to Hillman. It went viral after it was posted on the NYPD’s Facebook page.

Sartre was right, Hell is other people.

[ChunkyMonkey]

I hope the NYPD cop learns his $70 lesson.

[Tinelement]

but he wants “a piece of the pie”


Well, maybe someone will be kind enough to drop him off a slice a apple.


reminds me of this Ranger Up tee....

[kidicarus13]

He has kitchen skills but chooses not to apply them? Addicted to alcohol or drugs? Who knows. Hid the boots given to him? How about he traded them for a fifth of booze. Probably too embarrased to tell the reporter the truth, "I'm too lazy to work." Where's my Obama money and free cellphone damn it! ...and royalties from YouTube.

[Inconel710]

I'd like to know what pie he thinks he'd get a piece of! The woman that posted the picture didn't profit from it. The cop didn't profit from it. The only people getting any "pie" out of this are the news organizations! Maybe they can get a producer to head down there and drop off some ad revenue.

[BushMasterBoy]

Maybe he will go to the VA for help. VA has rehab. VA is a slice of the pie. The press is part of the pie that goes in the toilet bowl...

[TRnCO]

“they are worth a lot of money.”

this probably should read, "They WERE worth a lot of money", and "I needed the money for other things".....

[Scanker19]

No good deed goes unpunished.

[T-Giv]

Obama will probably implement some new "budget strategies" and this guy will become a celebrity with how much money he "deserves" from working class Americans.

[kidicarus13]

And the rest of the story....
The Daily News reports that various city organizations have attempted to help Hillman. Barbara Brancaccio, a spokesperson for the city's Homeless Service said, "He [Hillman] has a history of turning down services."
The man's brother, Kirk Hillman, told the Daily News that he hasn't heard from Jeffrey since January. "We love our brother very much," Kirk Hillman said. "Our door is always open to him, but this is a lifestyle he's chosen."