- [Ken] Hi-Fives or hugs, gentlemen?
You gotta pick one.
- [Officer] I'll take a hug.
- [Ken] Yes!
(laughter)
- [Ken] You're a good man.
Alright, good.
- [Officer] How are you guys?
- [Officer] Are you the
guy from the video I saw?
- [Ken] That's me, yes!
(laughter)
- I thought that was you!
- Yeah, awesome.
- Love that video!
- [Officer] Yes, sir!
- I saw it; I love that video.
- Cool! How long ago did you see it?
- [Officer] It showed up
on my news feed last night.
- [Officer] Like a week or two ago.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- But I had watched it previously.
- Cool.
- Well I appreciate you guys, man.
- Thank you.
- I hate all the drama
that's been goin' on in the world, and...
This is the way we fix it
- Positivity, thank you.
- If more people will follow that example
and realize we don't need to be divided.
We're people!
- [Officer] That's right!.
- Beyond the uniform, you guys are people.
You guys have families.
You guys have kids.
I got babies at home.
I want everybody to live.
I want everybody to do well.
You guys are awesome.
Thank you for keeping the streets safe.
- Thank you very much.
- I gotta get a picture,
- Alright man, we'll do it.
- I gotta get a picture.
We need more of this.
- More of this.
- More of this right here.
More of this.
- [Officer] One more for the road, man.
- [Ken] Oh, yeah!
- [Officer] Good stuff, man. Awesome.
- [Ken] Thank you, guys.
Have a good night.
- [Officer] Love you, man.
- [Ken] Yes?
- I got a friend named Theodore Camper.
He's in South Africa.
- Yep.
- He's a police officer down there.
I posted your video, and he said,
"Ken, just made my day."
- [Ken] Really?
- Could you say hi to him for me?
- Absolutely!
Hey Theodore.
We're here in the streets in Cleveland,
and your buddy just ran
into the Free Hugs Guy.
He said he shared the video with you,
it made your day.
Hopefully this'll make your day:
getting a personal message.
Sending you a hug through the phone, man.
- Amen! Thank you!
- [Ken] Alright, thank you so much.
- Thanks, brother.
- I understand that, behind that uniform,
they're are husbands.
They're are fathers.
They're are brothers.
They're someone's son.
People have to stop
looking at these uniforms
as though they're robots,
and feeling like us versus them.
Violence is not right,
so no matter what side of
the policies they're on,
you still have to stand for what's right,
and no one should say, "Oh,
well they took some of ours
"so then we're gonna take some of theirs."
That is ridiculous thinking.
You can't fight fire with fire,
or an eye for an eye.
People really have to
be able to understand
that the way we're going to find peace is:
you spread love, that love gets responded to.
When you can touch people's heart
and help them understand the pains
that you're going through,
they're more likely to try to understand
and have that empathy or sympathy for you.
It's a common sense principle.
With this sort of work, I
try to stay neutral...
♫ Gotta make it happen ♫
Here you go, my man.
(singing)
♫ They're givin' out free hugs ♫
I went out to see you guys after the bombing
of the Boston Marathon.
That's when I started
this project.
- [Officer] We were just talking with your friend about it.
- [Ken] That's my message... It's just spreadin' more love.
- [Officer] I wonder if we could
get uniforms like that?
- [Ken] Yeah, you guys should!
- A badge there.
- Right, get a little button
that says, "Free Hugs" on it (laughing)
- Mass. State Police Free Hugs.
- (laughing) That would be awesome.
- [Voiceover] It's the Hug Man!
There you go!
- [Ken] Yes!
- [Voiceover] Thank you!
- [Voiceover] That's
a good hug there, man!
- [Civilian] How you doin', man?
(laughter)
You give good hugs too, man!
You've been practicing, huh?! (laughter)
A hi-five or hug?
- [Officer] High five.
- [Ken] Ahh man, all hi-fives?
Somebody here needs a hug!
Come on!
- [Officer] That man right there.
(laughter)
- Thanks, man.
Hugs or hi-fives?
What do you pick?
- What's goin'... get over here!
[Ken] Hey! Give me a hug!
[Ken] He's nervous... Did you hear him scream?
- He was like... "argh, I'm just gonna take it".
There we go! See?
Ohhhh, yes!
That's a hug.
(laughter)
- [Officer] Look out; he
might squeeze you.
[Ken] He might squeeze me?
(laughter)
(laughter)
