Myrtle Beach Police Department, South Carolina is being slammed online after one of its officers escorted a homeless man and the good Samaritan who offered to buy him food out of a local McDonald's.
Such incident happened on Wednesday, Feb. 28, and was caught on a video by Yossi Gallo, the customer that paid for the not-so-happy meal. He then shared it on Facebook, where it has gained more than 53 million views as of Friday, Mar. 2.
While many of the 197,000 comments scrutinize the fast food restaurant, a majority of these are directed toward the female cop, calling her as "heartless" and "stupid."
The Incident At Myrtle Beach McDonald's
According to Gallo, he was driving to McDonald's at about 11 a.m. on Wednesday when he saw the homeless man nearby. He asked if the man felt hungry, then took him inside for something to eat.
When they were about to order, the employee behind the register refused to serve any food to the man but Gallo responded that he was paying for the meal. Afterward, the two sat down at separate tables to eat.
The good Samaritan claimed that while in McDonald's, the man didn't cause any problem at all. Besides being "very quiet" and "very polite," he didn't even smell bad.
Around five minutes later, the officer arrived and approached the homeless man telling him that he was trespassing in the facility. Gallo, who got "really upset," took his phone out to record what was happening.
The cop said the man was reportedly begging for money from the other customers but Gallo defended him. As a result, they were both removed from the premises at the request of the manager.
Following the heated encounter, he uploaded the video on his personal Facebook profile for his friends to see. When he checked the post after almost an hour, it was already flooded by comments.
"I hope it sends a message to people: don't be afraid to stick up for someone that is homeless. They are people, too. We could have been there, too. It doesn't take much to not be homeless," the good Samaritan said.
Response Of Myrtle Beach Police Department
In response to all the attacks they have been receiving, the Myrtle Beach Police Department explains the man was actually asking for money in the facility's parking area and that Gallo was also asked to leave due to "disorderly behavior."
Despite everything that happened on Wednesday, Gallo said he doesn't have any ill feelings for the officer because she was just following orders.
