During a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, following the failure of the Grand Jury to indict a white police officer for fatally shooting an unarmed teenager, freelance photographer Johnny Nguyen captured this picture on Nov. 25th.
“I came upon this boy who had tears in his eyes and I knew this was the place to be, so I followed him in the crowd,” Nguyen said. “Then he came upon the police officer. They talked and he gave him a hug.”
According to ABC, 12-year-old Devonte Hart was at the demonstration holding a sign that said “free hugs” when Portland Police Sgt. Bret Barnum noticed him, motioned the boy over and the two began talking.
Barnum pointed to the sign and asked “Do I get one of those?”
Carla Akins, a BFF of mine, explained that the photo “has been shared, ‘liked,’ or viewed on social media more than 100,000 times.”
Hart was born to a drug-addicted mother, but was adopted by a loving family and has continued to surprise them with his genuine acts of kindness.
