A caring police officer in Laurel, Maryland, was called after security guards at a Giant grocery store detained a young mother for allegedly trying to steal $15 worth of diapers.
The woman, who was not identified, confessed and said that she was stealing the diapers because she could not afford to pay for them.
Instead of taking the woman to jail, the officer write her a citation and paid for the diapers out of his own pocket.
“Though it’s but a snapshot of some of the work your officers are doing daily, we still wanted to take a moment to thank Officer Johns for not just fairly enforcing the law, but also showing empathy to an innocent child put in a difficult situation,” the department wrote.
Read the post about the situation below:
“Why do cops get to go shopping on duty?” is but one of the many questions we get asked throughout the shift. Though we often joke that our field trainees are still in diapers, it turns out that rookie Officer Johns was not buying these for himself.
Officers responded for a shoplifting call at a grocery store and learned that a young mother, with her infant son, was caught by security attempting to steal two packs of diapers. After she purchased some groceries she did not have enough money leftover to buy the diapers. Officer Johns considered the situation and then made the decision to purchase the diapers out of his own pocket so that the young child would not suffer. It’s worth noting that the female was still issued a criminal citation for the theft.
Though it’s but a snapshot of some of the work your officers are doing daily, we still wanted to take a moment to thank Officer Johns for not just fairly enforcing the law, but also showing empathy to an innocent child put in a difficult situation.
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