Woman Is Caught Shoplifting At Whole Foods And Instead of Arresting Her, Cops Buy Her Groceries

Jul 11, 2019

This year on the Fourth of July, three NYPD officers arrived at a Whole Foods store in New York upon receiving a call regarding a shoplifting incident. According to PIX11, the woman stole items from the hot food bar.

The woman, who has remained anonymous, admitted she stole the food because she was hungry. Instead of arresting her, the officers decided to pay for the items so she would go home with a hot meal.

“I asked her what’s going on, she told me she was hungry, so I looked in her bag and [...] we decided to say ‘We’ll pay for her food’” said Lr. Louis Sojo.

Officer Esanidy Cuevas, Officer Michael Rivera and Lt. Louis Sojo then escorted her to the cash register and collectively pulled out $30 to pay for her groceries. 

“When you look at someone’s face and you noticed that they need you and they’re actually hungry, you know, it’s pretty difficult as a human being to walk away from something like that,” Lt. Sojo continued.

Paul Bozymowski, a shopper who was present at the scene, snapped an emotional photo of the distraught woman and the officers on Twitter. The post has since went viral.

“This woman was being held by security. 

She had food in her bag she didn’t pay for.

When the NYPD showed up, they paid for her food.” he wrote.

What do you think of the officer’s actions? Would you have done the same if you were in that situation? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!