Less than a week before Christmas Day last month, a Massachusetts police officer responded to a reported shoplifting in progress at a local Stop & Shop. However, once he'd arrived at the scene, he didn't end up making any arrests.
Instead, he generously paid for the suspects' groceries so they could make a delicious holiday dinner to enjoy with their families.
According to a post on the department's website, the associate told Lima that he had observed two women with two young children approach a self-checkout kiosk at the store and allegedly not pay for many of their grocery items.
The women placed both their scanned and un-scanned products into bags at the machine, and then walk out of the store with their haul.
The women and their children were then asked to come back inside the Stop & Shop with the groceries while they waited for police to show up.
Their story touched the officer's heart, who later admitted, “The two children with the women reminded me of my kids, so I had to help them out."
Rather than arrest the suspects, he served them Notice Not to Trespass forms, and then told the associate who reported the shoplifting that no criminal charges would be pressed, as all the missing products on the receipt were grocery items.
Then he did something even more incredible.
"Obviously, this family was in need and I can't imagine having to make the decision to go to Stop and Shop and just only pay for what I can afford — or do I go there and try to take things for Christmas dinner for the kids?" Lima told WJAR.
"They were very thankful, they were kind of shocked," he continued. "I'm sure a lot of people in that same situation would be thinking that there was going to be a different outcome, and maybe they would be arrested or have to go to court."
“I would like to personally commend Officer Lima for his actions,” Chief McNeil said on the department's website. “His actions exemplify what it means to protect and serve the members of our community. When faced with a difficult situation in which a family was trying to provide a meal for their kids, he made the generous decision to not press charges and instead ensured that they would have a Christmas dinner they could enjoy.”
"I just did what I felt was right," Lima told WJAR of his actions. "It's not about me, I just tried to put myself in that family's shoes and show a little bit of empathy."
