SOMERSET, Mass. — A Massachusetts police officer is winning praise for providing Christmas dinner for two women accused of trying to steal groceries for their children.
Officer Matt Lima responded to a report of shoplifting Dec. 20 at Stop & Shop.
Two women with two young children were accused of bagging groceries at a self-checkout kiosk without scanning them.
The women said they had fallen upon hard times and wanted to provide a Christmas dinner for the children.
Lima says he was reminded of his own children and decided not to charge them. Instead, he used his own money to buy $250 in grocery gift cards.
"I just did what I felt was right. I just tried to put myself in that family's shoes and show a little bit of empathy," Lima told WJAR-TV in Providence, Rhode Island.