Can You Tell Why This Photo of a Police Officer Is Making News?

Darren Ballard says he was driving near State Route 512 in Washington when he noticed something noteworthy: a sheriff's deputy on the side of the road, sharing his food with a homeless man.

"Just saw this cop having a sandwich with a homeless guy in the cut wanting no attention just doing a good deed....there are good police officers out there people this made my day please share!!!!!" Ballard wrote, posting an image of what he saw on Facebook.

More than 32,000 people shared the photo, and now news outlets are starting to pick up the story as well.

KING5-TV tracked down the homeless man in the image, and the man said Deputy Mike Huffman has shared his food with him before.

"He's really cool," James Haynes said. "He smiles all the time and is great. He makes me laugh and, you know, it's very depressing out here."

Though Huffman didn't want to comment for the story, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Detective Ed Troyer told KDVR-TV: "The deputy sat down with him and shared his lunch with the man. These type of incidents happen quite often in our department.”

Ballard said he is happy to remind people of the good deeds police officers do amid a slew of news stories casting them in a negative light.

"It meant a lot to me for everyone to see this image, because there are awesome police officers out there and they don't get enough credit," he remarked.

More on the story via KING5-TV, below: