Myrtle Beach, SC – When police received complaints about a homeless veteran begging for money, the officer who responded could have aggressively demanded that the man leave the area, and then use physical force if he did not immediately comply. But instead, the officer did something unexpected, he bought the man a meal.

When Horry County Police officer CJ Mullinax arrived at a local Hardee’s Restaurant, he found a homeless man who just wanted a meal. Footage of the encounter was posted on Facebook by Victoria Paige Summer, an employee at the restaurant. She said employees were giving the man food and allowing him to hang around but that one unhappy patron decided to call 911 instead.

Leading by example, Mullinax arrived, had a simple conversation with the man, reached into his wallet, and bought him a meal. The video has now gone viral.

“Police were called to our restaurant today because a homeless man was asking people for their scraps to eat,” Summer said. “This police officer bought the homeless man food and handled the situation amazingly!”

While many individuals feel the need to film police encounters because they are worried about what could go wrong, Summer told WMBF News that she started recording because she was thrilled to see that Officer Mullinax “had so much compassion.”

This is not the first time Mullinax was caught on camera conducting community policing with positive results. In 2015, when he was working for the Bennettsville Police Department, the officer was caught on camera playing football with kids in the community.

At the time, Mullinax told ABC News that he hoped the public would see the interaction as his way to gain the community’s trust.

“Whenever I have interactions with someone, despite what they’ve done, I’m going to treat them how I would want to be treated,” Mullinax said. “We’re all human, we all make mistakes, but at the same time, it’s my responsibility as a cop to help fix anything wrong, and I want to do that in the most respectful way possible.”

The homeless man in the latest video has been identified as a veteran named “Donald,” according to a Myrtle Beach resident who told the New York Post that he is “the nicest guy.”

“He served in the Army from 1978-1981 then got out, worked in construction and then hit a wall which brought him to a point in his life that walked him down the road to homelessness,” the resident said.

OP Note: Gotta love the "Now Hiring" sign there,...OK then, this awesome Officer bought him lunch Mr. Manager, now it's your turn to be a human and go hire the guy...seems capable& willing..... Bet he doesn't... ~Central Scrutinizer

Jack Burns is an educator, journalist, investigative reporter, and advocate of natural medicine.

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