Maryland officer buys diapers for mother caught stealing them

[the game]

(CNN)The young mother had purchased groceries, but she didn't have enough money left to buy diapers for her infant son.

That's when security officers at a Laurel, Maryland, supermarket caught her attempting to shoplift two packs of diapers, worth about $15, according to Laurel Police.
But instead of arresting the woman, Officer Bennett Johns bought the diapers for her with his own money, police said.
"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," Laurel police wrote on Facebook on Saturday, along with a photo of Johns making his purchase.

Johns realized the woman, whose name has not been released, was struggling to provide for her son, according to Laurel Police spokeswoman Audrey Barnes. As someone who grew up with a single mother, he hoped to give the child a better life.
"Just out of personal kindness, he decided to go ahead and buy them," Barnes said. "It speaks to the heart of what community policing is all about."
Johns' actions demonstrate the department's push for its officers to establish meaningful relationships with residents even when there is no crisis happening, Barnes said.
"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," police said in their post.
Johns did issue the woman a citation for theft, which means she will have to appear in court for the misdemeanor, WSVN reports.
The city of Laurel has since referred the woman to an advocacy service that helps struggling families in the area.
"We want to make sure she doesn't fall through the cracks," Barnes said.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/27/us/cop...rnd/index.html

[Jeezy911]

I asked Jesus for a bike but he doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked for forgiveness.

[niil945]

What a heart warming story. A woman has a child she can't afford, buys groceries, but is caught committing theft and we're supposed to leave the article feeling she was a victim. I wonder if I go out and buy a 500k car (the same amount it costs to raise a kid from
0-18) then couldn't afford the payments, if people would see me as a victim.

Cradle to grave used to be an insult. Now it's a bonafide political ideology. "Do what I want when I want and have someone else cover it"

Any other false equivocations you want to make? Or are you planning to switch to a different fallacy for your next diatribe?

[s_bushido]

What a heart warming story. A woman has a child she can't afford, buys groceries, but is caught committing theft and we're supposed to leave the article feeling she was a victim. I wonder if I go out and buy a 500k car (the same amount it costs to raise a kid from
0-18) then couldn't afford the payments, if people would see me as a victim.

Cradle to grave used to be an insult. Now it's a bonafide political ideology. "Do what I want when I want and have someone else cover it"

The irony, of course, is that idiots who talk like this also fight tooth and nail to prevent the people they're demonizing from obtaining the services that would help them (especially when it comes to abortion and family planning).

[NineSpine]

What a heart warming story. A woman has a child she can't afford, buys groceries, but is caught committing theft and we're supposed to leave the article feeling she was a victim. I wonder if I go out and buy a 500k car (the same amount it costs to raise a kid from
0-18) then couldn't afford the payments, if people would see me as a victim.

Cradle to grave used to be an insult. Now it's a bonafide political ideology. "Do what I want when I want and have someone else cover it"

Stop projecting your black and white mentality onto everyone else.

[Dug]

A decent story about cops not killing people for once and one of the biggest "cops do no wrong" posters needs to bitch all of the sudden lmao

[araine]

What a heart warming story. A woman has a child she can't afford, buys groceries, but is caught committing theft and we're supposed to leave the article feeling she was a victim. I wonder if I go out and buy a 500k car (the same amount it costs to raise a kid from
0-18) then couldn't afford the payments, if people would see me as a victim.

Cradle to grave used to be an insult. Now it's a bonafide political ideology. "Do what I want when I want and have someone else cover it"

Perhaps you understand with your 500k claim that we need to raise min wages as well and we need to raise them by a LOT just to do with YOUR example of 500k cost lets see how that matches up to min wages we have right now shall we?

min wage will with 175hr / month and 12 months not a single vacation day etc etc gross you 15k a year so lets say we assume you have to bear the burden of the kid until he turns 18 a fair assumption or? so that gives us a gross income BEFORE taxes etc of 274k over 18 years.

So again tell me how you pay for rent food and everything else when YOU even said it costs you 500k to raise a kid.

Thats the most clear cut proof of that min wages are totally wrong and way way way to low, But i know what folks like you will say dont work a fucking min wage job get a real job nonsense excuses of the far right.

So you have no problem basically forbidding folks making less than 25 dollars/ hr to have kids, i know you will use the scapegoat excuse get a real job so you can afford it and totally failing to grasp the common sense and total INSANITY stand point of thinking the current wages are ok.

[the game]

A decent story about cops not killing people for once and one of the biggest "cops do no wrong" posters needs to bitch all of the sudden lmao

I thought it was pretty good of the cop.

[BuckSparkles]

That's nice. But if she stole she should have been arrested.

[Aeula]

In this day and age I honestly expected him to be fired or penalised and the mother to be dragged away screaming.

[cubby]

What a heart warming story. A woman has a child she can't afford, buys groceries, but is caught committing theft and we're supposed to leave the article feeling she was a victim. I wonder if I go out and buy a 500k car (the same amount it costs to raise a kid from
0-18) then couldn't afford the payments, if people would see me as a victim.

Cradle to grave used to be an insult. Now it's a bonafide political ideology. "Do what I want when I want and have someone else cover it"

Indeed it is (you got a little muffled there at the end - some kind of crazy streak where it seemed like you thinking it wasn't a good idea to help people in need - I fixed that for you - you're welcome).

Great story of a cop helping out where he could have hurt (you're aware of how ticketing for minor offenses costs poor people more, right?) and making the day brighter for everyone (except, apparently, you).

This is a perfect example of why we need to increase our social services, not cut them. It's ridiculous that we have homeless children in this country.

[Dug]

I thought it was pretty good of the cop.

It is and good on him. To be that broke that you can't afford diapers for your own child is tragic

[Shinra1]

It's disgusting how the world's 'best country' has more than 40% of the population below the poverty line and also the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the world.

[Halyon]

This is a double-edged sword. If she's opportunistic, she'll do it again and use this kindness to get free shit for her kid...a kid she shouldn't have had. Of course, this is relative, as I don't know about the woman's past, but unless something really unfortunate happened to her, that just couldn't be helped, then she shouldn't have had a kid to begin with, if she couldn't provide for it.

That said, seeing as it's America, the overall education for prevention and stigma against abortion as taking responsibility, then it's not entirely surprising either. But I do wonder if she couldn't get support elsewere if even diapers are too much to handle.

On a glance, it's heartwarming, I suppose, but I think this is just a 'bear service' in the end.

[Shinra1]

That's nice. But if she stole she should have been arrested.

You have a promising career as a meter maid.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Nice but changes nothing if he or another officer decides to put in someones back, because he's nervous. Either both stories are important or neither. Doesn't make either relevant to anything by themselves.

- - - Updated - - -

That's nice. But if she stole she should have been arrested.

unfortunately yes.

[BuckSparkles]

You have a promising career as a meter maid.

More if you steal should be punished.

[Shinra1]

More if you steal should be punished.

Drop the act. Surely nobody can be this obtuse or lack compassion to empathise with a woman trying to buy pampers for her infant. She wasnt robbing a bank or stealing savings from pensioners.

Not all crimes deserve punishment. What she needs is welfare to help her feed and cloth her child. Any country that says its modern or progressive like America does shouldn't make its most needy resort to stealing food and baby essentials just to survive.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

More if you steal should be punished.

Johns did issue the woman a citation for theft, which means she will have to appear in court for the misdemeanor, WSVN reports.

Feel better?

[Shinra1]

unfortunately yes.

Another meter maid in-training!