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MUNCIE, Ind. -- Gregory Barnes Jr. was driving in his hometown of Muncie, Indiana when a patrol car pulled up behind him and signaled him to the side of the road.
In a time of tense relations between police and citizens, especially with communities of color, it's the opening scene to countless videos on social media. Outrage inspires action, and an angry, divisive conversation often follows.
After officer Shawn Cosgrove pulled Barnes over, he, too, took out his phone -- but the selfie he later posted on Facebook Friday has gone viral for all the right reasons.
In his post, which has been shared half-a-million times, Barnes, who works as a vice president of sales at STAR financial bank, wrote:
The photo has gone viral, positioning the Internet's magnifying glass over the Indiana native and changing his life over the weekend.
"I have to say that these last few days have been pretty crazy, both good and some bad," Barnes wrote Wednesday morning. "I'd be lying to you all if I said that I hadn't let some of the negative comments and posts get me down. I'm human, which, ironically enough, was what the initial post and pic was all about."
A large part of the attention has been positive, of course. He has had "tons and tons of offers for free meals or drinks." So many, in fact, that Barnes is now asking people to donate instead to the to the Muncie Boys & Girls Club and the Roy C. Buley Community Center.
He's also challenged those attacking him on social media to "put your money where your hate is" and donate $1 each to both organizations, which he credits with raising him from a small child.