A Detroit police officer was captured helping a young man tie his tie outside a downtown courthouse earlier this month, and the images have gone viral.
After finishing up work on a case at 36th District Court, Cpl. Eric O'Neil was approached by a man having attire issues, WXYZ-TV reports. The man, who O'Neil didn't know, asked if the officer knew how to properly knot a tie, and O'Neil happily complied.
"I was taught at a very young age to treat people how you want to be treated," the officer told WXYZ. "Help people that need help, and it's really that simple."
"I flipped his collar up," he added. "I showed him what part of the tie to pull down and push this up and kind of squared him away."
While O'Neil was helping out the stranger, his wardrobe savvy was photographed by a judge at the courthouse who spotted the interaction from her upstairs window. She then posted the images on social media.
Thanks to the post, O'Neil received an outpouring of praise for his act of kindness, which spread online. And one internet comment came from a person who is especially close to the stranger needing the necktie assistance.
"That was my son who asked him to fix his tie," the mother wrote. "He had been on YouTube all morning trying to tie it."
And O'Neil said the young man should feel no shame in needing help with his fashion accessory.
"To this day, my brother can't tie a tie," O'Neil told WXYZ. "I tie his, and they stay tied in his closet, still, to this day."
