Metro

Homeless man who got boots from officer has arrest history stretching into 1980’s

Homeless, shoeless Jeffrey Hillman was known to police long before a kind-hearted officer bought him a new pair of boots.

Hillman’s arrest history in New York and Pennsylvania stretches back to the early 1980s, according to records and law enforcement sources.

The 54-year-old street beggar, who became an Internet sensation after the image of Officer Lawrence DiPrimo’s act of compassion was posted, was most recently busted in New York City in 2008 for possession of a controlled substance.

He had a similar drug bust in 2003 and a slew of charges in 2002 for harassment, menacing, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.

In 2000 Hillman, who often haunts Times Square and the Upper West Side, was busted on charges including forgery and grand larceny and criminal possession.

Two years earlier ,in 1998, he was picked up for public lewdness after allegedly masturbating in front of numerous people in Hamilton Heights.

That same year in Allentown, Pa. he was busted for assault, but the charges were dismissed, record show.

He’s also well known to the Big Apple’s Department of Homeless Services.

Since mid-2011, he’s had a private Bronx apartment that is paid for out of his Social Security and Veterans Administration disability benefits, along with other federal assistance, according to city officials.

“He’s on the way, we hope, to success. We got to the first step. That’s the foundation you build on,” said Seth Diamond, the DHS commissioner.

Diamond said Hillman was living there as recently as last month.

Despite his erratic behavior — such as ditching his new boots to resume his barefoot wanderings in the cold — Diamond said Hillman did meet the “threshold” to be committed for mental evaluation or treatment.

Hillman’s family in Allentown said yesterday they hadn’t heard from him since his sudden fame,