When a Massachusetts police officer saw the list of things two women tried to steal in a grocery store five days before Christmas, their situation touched his heart.
“It was all food,” he remarks.
Instead of arresting them, he bought a $ 250 gift card to pay for Christmas dinner.
Officer Matt Lima of the Somerset Police Department paid for the meal after responding to a call at the local Stop and Shop and seeing the two small children with the women. straight into their suitcases.
“I have two girls myself, similar to the age of the two girls who were there, and it hit me a little bit,” Lima told local NBC affiliate WJAR.
He was moved when he learned that the mother of the two children had no job, and that the food they were stealing was for their holiday dinner. ‘There was nothing else there like health and beauty products, shampoo, and stuff like that. It was all food, ”he said. “I was just trying to put myself in the family’s shoes and show a little empathy.”
The store issued a “no offense” order to two women.
Somerset Police Chief George McNeil praised the officer in a statement: “This incident is a true testament to Officer Lima’s great character and decision making.”