Massachusetts police officer buys Christmas dinner for women caught stealing groceries

A police officer in the United States assisted two women, who were caught stealing groceries at a shop, by buying them Christmas dinner. According to the Somerset Police Department, officer Matt Lima responded to a call of ongoing shoplifting at a Stop & Shop outlet on 815 Grand Army Highway on December 20 last month. When Lima reached the scene, he was informed by an associate that the two women with two young children did not scan all of their groceries and then put them into shopping bags at the self-checkout kiosks. Lima decided to not press charges against the two suspects after he discovered the women were struggling to make their ends meet and stole just groceries because they wanted to provide Christmas dinner for their children. 

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"The two children with the women reminded me of my kids, so I had to help them out," Officer Lima said in a statement. "I would like to personally commend Officer Lima for his actions. 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," Chief George McNeil said. 

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Buys them $250 worth of gift cards

The associate reportedly printed the transaction receipt and noticed numerous items the two women took were missing. The women were subsequently asked to return inside with their items while Somerset Police was informed about the alleged shoplifting. Officer Lima responded to the call, and upon reaching the shop he discovered the two women fell upon hard times and attempted to take additional groceries they did not have enough money to pay for so they could provide a Christmas dinner for the two young children.

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This melted officer Lima's heart, who not only decided to let go of the two women without any charges but also bought them gift cards worth $250 with his own money so they would be able to purchase groceries for their Christmas dinner at another Stop & Shop location. Officer Lima served the two women Notice Not To Trespass forms and informed the associate that he would not be pressing criminal charges as all the missing items on their receipt were groceries.

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