A Return Escort

8.29.2012

I saw an opportunity for some cool shots when I saw this homeless man sleeping while sitting upright on a bench near my Dinkytown bus stop. After a little while, I took a break to meet some friends who were also waiting for their evening commute home, but when I looked back at the man I had a bit of a scare.  He slumped and sank along the bench in an eerily-slow way. I thought to myself, “Oh my goodness, did I just photograph a dead guy?” So I looked around and saw a police officer and his partner on the street corner. I went over to him, pointed to the man, and said, “Excuse me sir, but could you check and see if that man is, well, alive?” Without skipping a beat the officer looked at me and said, “Oh don’t worry pal, that’s who we’re here for.” The officers then walked over to the man, nudged him awake while calling his name and, in a way that didn’t seem like their first time, reminded him that he wasn’t allowed to sleep on this bench. The man woke up startled but still slow-moving. It’s very possible that he was intoxicated because after the officers brought him to his feet, they had to escort him arm in arm to their squad car. He couldn’t really walk well on his own.