Some people respond to hate with hate, but Officer Chuck Thomas of the Homestead Police Department in Homestead, Pennsylvania is different.
"A male and female were going to be seated across from us, and he said, 'I don't want to sit there,'" Thomas told ABC News, "which drew my attention, and we made eye contact, and his body language just told me that he wanted nothing to do with police."
"I looked over at him and said, 'You don't have to worry about it. We won't hurt you,'" Thomas continued. "He said, 'No, I'm good. I don't want to sit there.'"
Any other person would have been offended by the couple's decision. Thomas' friends were perfectly fine just shrugging off the incident, but Thomas felt he needed to respond with kindness, understanding, and compassion.
He then decided to pick up the couple's check and leave a short message on their receipt, telling the couple he is thankful for their support. Thomas even left a $10 tip.
"What it really came down to was that, ultimately, I just wanted to let them know that we've got to better the relationship between police and the community," he explained. "The day after Dallas, it was tight. You could feel the tension in the air. A lot of people did come up to us and thank us and shook hands and spoke of their sorrow. This was the only negative experience of the day."
Thomas' surprising act of kindness worked, because on their way out of the restaurant, their server told them the couple was "thrown back by it" and ended up "chuckling."
