Officer buys holiday dinner for grocery theft suspects: 'I just did what I felt was right'
SOMERSET, Mass. — A Massachusetts police officer declined to charge two women accused of trying to steal groceries — and instead bought them Christmas dinner.
Somerset Officer Matt Lima responded to a report of shoplifting Dec. 20 at a Stop & Shop location, where two women with two young children were accused of putting groceries into bags at a self-checkout kiosk without scanning them.
The women said they had fallen on hard times and were trying to provide a Christmas dinner for the children. Lima says he was reminded of his own children and used his own money to buy $250 in grocery gift cards.
"His actions exemplify what it means to protect and serve the members of our community," Chief George McNeil said on the department's website.
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Lima told a local TV station the women were "thankful" and "shocked."
"I just did what I felt was right," he told NBC 10 WJAR. "It's not about me, I just tried to put myself in that family's shoes and show a little bit of empathy."
Contributing: Joel Shannon, USA TODAY
