Man Confronts Panhandler To Remove Soldier’s Uniform
A Tampa Bay soldier was filmed confronting a panhandler wearing an Army uniform, who apparently never served our country.
Former Army combat medic Garrett Goodwin, confronted the panhandler Sunday afternoon. He walked up to panhandler he believed was a phony and began to question him about his military service.
When Goodwin asked the man about his military service, the panhandler responded with, "Special forces, so top secret not even the VA knows about it."
That's when Goodwin became upset with the man, yelling at him to remove the uniform,"Take off my uniform. Take that and throw it in the garbage. I don't want you to wear it anymore. That's my uniform. My brothers died for that uniform.”
The reason Goodwin decided to step in and say something was influence by the recent loss of a fellow veteran, "I'm mourning my friend and then I see this guy. I see this guy in uniform dishonoring that, and it was more than I can bear. Right is right, and wrong is wrong,” he said.
He called police to report the panhandler for stolen valor, which is a third degree felony, but the man ran away before police arrived.