Army Combat Medic Confronts Panhandler For Posing As Veteran In Military Attire

A man who served as an Army combat medic confronted a panhandler for posing as a veteran in military attire after realizing he had never actually served.

According to WFTS, Garrett Goodwin—who served as an Army Combat medic for nearly a decade—saw the panhandler in military attire while he was in South Tampa headed MacDill Air Force Base.

Goodwin claims that when he first saw the man, he was actually wanting to help.

I would have made sure he had a place to live and food in his stomach and the services he needed

But then he realized the unidentified man wasn’t an actual veteran just by asking him a simple question, according to the television station.

When Goodwin asked the man to present his Veteran's ID card, the panhandler couldn't give him one—and that's when Goodwin knew the man was a fake.

He confronted the man, shouting "take off my uniform," refusing to back down until the man began to retreat.

Some people think the man did what was right, while others are saying he may have gone a little too far. As far his passion, Goodwin revealed why he refused to back down,

Some people have called me a bully on the Internet and I think he’s a bully wearing a uniform holding up a sign walking up to people’s cars in an intersection looking for money, I think he’s bullying people out of their money.

I’m about public safety and public service and when it comes to the military, seeing people in uniform that … we bled, sweat, cried and burned through, it disgusts me,

Goodwin posted a video of the incident online, and it has since gone viral.

[via WFTS]