“It made me feel like our interaction could help people and children”.

In a follow-up posting, Greg Barnes Jr. thanked everyone who reached out to him in response to the viral selfie with the officer. “We can continue to fight against each other until we are literally “black and blue, ‘ or we can show one another the respect we inherently deserve, not as ‘black man” and ‘blue police officer, ‘ but as humans”.

In 2012 the police officer was honored as “Pendleton Trooper of the District” for his “high level of service, dedication and professionalism exemplified in service to the citizens of Indiana and the Indiana State Police”. “His post has now been shared over 425,000 times, and has seen significant traction on Twitter with the hashtag “#Respect”.

“Immediately I knew I was in the wrong”, Barnes said.

– A selfie taken by a African-American man during a traffic stop by a white police officer was going viral across the internet over the weekend.

“I thought that would be a great moment, especially nowadays when there is tension all around the nation when it comes to policing”, Cosgrove told WISH-TV.

Both men say it was a simple act that should be common. Barnes wrote in his post that the officer had pulled him over for speeding – but the encounter was nothing short of diplomatic and respectful. “Together, we, the only race that matters, the human race, can all make this world a better place than we found it”.

Barnes posted the photo on his Facebook with a caption saying people should respect each other regardless of their race or rank. They even had an open and honest discussion about “situations and circumstances within our society that have lead [sic] to interactions such as he and I’s [sic] to play out much more negatively, some even deadly, than ours”, Barnes added.