A Halifax police officer photographed sitting on the sidewalk beside a busker last Thursday says heâs been âoverwhelmedâ by positive reactions after the touching image went viral online.
The picture was retweeted hundreds of times, earned thousands of likes and even spawned its own hashtag: #HaliCop.
Even so, community response officer Const. Shawn Currie says the captured moment is simply a glimpse into his typical day.
âPart of my job is just to get to know everybody on the streets, whether itâs the merchants, the buskers, the homeless, and I just get to talk to them every single day,â Currie told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel Sunday.
Currie said the busker seen in the image plays violin and has become a friendly face on his daily beat. (The man was incorrectly described in early reports as a panhandler.)
âThis day in particular, I just wanted to sit down and talk with him and he was already warming up,â he said. âI just thought it would be better if I sat on the sidewalk with him so he could continue what he was doing.â
For Currie, who has worked in policing for 28 years, the online reaction to the photo has been âquite surprising.â
âThe last couple days, a lot of people have been coming up to me, hugging me, thanking me. Itâs very overwhelming, because thatâs just who I am,â he said.
He added that the picture, âgives people a different perspective of what police officers actually do.â
âNinety per cent of our day is involved with people, talking, interacting. Itâs not just all enforcement, writing tickets are arresting people,â he said.
The photo has since taken on a life of its own online and been Photoshopped into several different memes, including a Harry Potter scene, Miley Cyrusâ âWrecking Ballâ video and Vincent van Goughâs famous painting The Starry Night.
"...and the 6 raised me right."
â Giordano Ciampini (@GioFotoImg)
Final of the evening.
â Andy Bowers (@evilpez4)
Forgot to hashtag this one.
â Tammi â lifebythesea (@WindsweptCoast)
â Swiggy (@CaptSwiggy)
â Swiggy (@CaptSwiggy)
Itâs not the first time the Halifax cop has had a taste of online fame. Last July, Currie turned heads after giving a three-year-old boy a fake parking ticket for illegally stopping on his red plastic motorcycle near the Halifax waterfront.
Remember, no motorcycle parking in the circle by the ferry terminal. This ruthless biker was caught yesterday !
â Halifax_Police (@HfxRegPolice)
The image was posted to the Halifax Regional Police Facebook page and quickly amassed at least 10,000 likes the day it was posted.
Currie says that all the positive attention helps shine a new light on the role police play in communities.
âIt is great to show there is a different side of police officers,â he said.