A video of a man confronting a Thai police officer with a knife went viral recently, but mostly because of how calmly the officer reacted to the situation.
CCTV footage shows a distressed-looking man holding a large knife while entering a local police station. He aimed his knife at a police officer, who impressively remained calm.
He then calmly but quickly managed to convince the man to give up his knife. The police officer slowly approached him after taking the knife away.
The man then appeared to come to his senses and even broke down, prompting the compassionate officer to give him a hug. Aww!
Source: video screengrab
The police officer continued to hug him as others approached them in concern.
Shortly after that, the man sat down on a nearby chair and proceeded to thank the officer for stopping him.
Source: video screengrab
According to the Daily Mail, the officer’s name is Anirut Malee. He shared the distressed man’s situation with a local Thai news portal, saying,
“He used to be a musician but had been working as a security guard for three days and had not been paid.”
“On top of this he had his guitar stolen and it was all stressing him out.”
Source: video screengrab
“I heard him out and sympathized and said I had a guitar to give him, and suggested we go out for a meal together. We were conversing in Southern Thai dialect.”
The officer’s caring actions undoubtedly earned a lot of praise from netizens the world over.
In the end, the man in question was sent to a hospital for a mental health evaluation and was not charged.
We can all learn something from this kind-hearted police officer. The world could do with more policemen like Anirut!
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