This Sheriff's Deputy Is Getting Praise After A Photo Of Him Sharing His Lunch With A Homeless Man Went Viral

The photo spread through the internet after an onlooker shared it on Facebook.

By
Stephanie McNeal
by Stephanie McNeal

BuzzFeed News Reporter

A picture of a Washington state sheriff's deputy sharing his lunch with a homeless man has gone viral after an onlooker uploaded it to Facebook.

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Darren Ballard Sr. of Tacoma, Washington, posted the picture on his page on April 21 and it quickly spread through the web.

"Just saw this cop having a sandwich with a homeless guy in the cut wanting no attention just doing a good deed....there are good police officers out there people this made my day please share!!!!!" he wrote.

Almost 60,000 people have shared the original photo so far.

The homeless man, James Haynes, told KING5 that this is not the first time the deputy has shared his lunch with him.

KING 5 / Via king5.com

He said he has known Deputy Mike Huffman of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department for about a year and he sometimes will sit and chat with him for as long as an hour.

"He takes time out of his day to talk and if he gets a call, he'll run and take it, Haynes told KING5.

Haynes said he appreciates Huffman's friendship even more than the food.

"He smiles all the time and makes me laugh," he said. "It's very depressing out here."

BuzzFeed News has reached out to Ballard and the Pierce County Sheriff's Department for comment.

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