A Philadelphia area barber known for his Haircut 4 the Homeless initiative won't be discouraged by a recent encounter with police for which he says he still hasn't received a full explanation.
"Issues come and go," Brennon Jones, who was seen in recent viral footage being questioned by cops, told People in an interview published Thursday. "It may be the cops one day. It may be somebody else the next day. I won't let it discourage me in any way. … I'm just focused on providing a service for the less fortunate."
According to Jones, he was in the middle of cutting someone's hair when a Philadelphia officer approached him and said to "shut down immediately." No reason, Jones said, was given. The incident ultimately resulted in the officer telling Jones to proceed, followed by a statement to Peopleciting complaints from businesses about "loose hair," leaving him perplexed.
Jones also disputed the loose hair claims, wondering if the explanation is merely an excuse given that there are no businesses close enough to make such a complaint.
The Haircut 4 Homeless mobile service has been a Philadelphia fixture in recent years, with Jones receiving a great deal of media attention back in 2017. In an interview that year with a local CBS outlet, Jones recalled the inspiring experience of his first charity cut. The subject, a man named Braden, was said to have later been offered a full-time job.
"I cut his hair on 15th and Walnut [Streets]," he said at the time. "A few days later, I went to check up on him and he wasn't there. I was hoping nothing bad happened to him. When we did catch up weeks later, he got offered a full-time job."
When asked for comment by Complex, a Philadelphia Police Department rep pointed to their previous statement:
