Photo of Halifax police officer spending time with panhandler goes viral

It’s not every day you walk down a Halifax street and see a Halifax Regional Police officer sitting on the sidewalk with a panhandler.

But that’s just what Const. Shawn Currie was doing Thursday, when someone snapped a photo that’s now gone viral.

Currie has been working in downtown Halifax for the last nine years and says he loves many aspects of his job — in particular, he enjoys interacting with public.

“People always have that perception of police officers as the enforcement side,” Currie said.

“We’re only there when we’re arresting people or giving people tickets and that’s only about 10 per cent of our actual job. 90 per cent is interacting with people.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're only there when we're arresting people or giving people tickets and that's only about 10 per cent of our actual job. 90 per cent is interacting with people."

Thursday afternoon, Currie was on patrol along Spring Garden Road when he joined a panhandler who was doing yoga on the sidewalk. He sat down with the man and for half an hour, the pair talked about life.

Bruno Baurin was walking by when he noticed the unique encounter and took a photo of it.

“They’re two different walks of life, but when you look at the photo, they’re both sitting down together at the same level and just having a conversation,” Baurin said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They're two different walks of life, but when you look at the photo, they're both sitting down together at the same level and just having a conversation," Baurin said.

“You spend time with as many people as you possibly can, not just panhandlers but everybody, and he’s just one of the many people I’ve met up here over the nine years I’ve been here,” added Currie.

In just 24 hours, the photo has gone viral.

“I felt like it was really nice to see him treated like a human being because I mean, he is — everybody has their own story right, and it’s nice to see,” said Holly Hawkins, who saw the picture on social media and was impressed with the officer’s kindness.

Those who know and work alongside Currie aren’t surprised by his actions, his approach to policing or the attention he’s getting.

“Unfortunately, police respond to a lot of bad things and that tends to get reported,” said HRP Deputy Chief Bill Moore.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Unfortunately, police respond to a lot of bad things and that tends to get reported," said HRP Deputy Chief Bill Moore.

“Our officers are out there day in and day out having conversations with people and helping them and I think it balances out what we do on a daily basis.”

This isn’t the first time that Currie has been placed in the spotlight — last summer, a photograph of him writing a pretend ticket to a three-year-old boy along the Halifax waterfront also gained a lot of attention.

“I don’t do it for setting up a picture, it’s just having fun and being part of the job,” Currie said.

Police hope Currie’s actions can help them bridge a divide between cops and the community.