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NYPD Officers Pay for Groceries of Woman Accused of Shoplifting

New York City, NY (CBS) — Three New York City police officers were working on the Fourth of July when they decided to stop by a Manhattan Whole Foods supe...
nypd pay for groceries

New York City, NY (CBS) — Three New York City police officers were working on the Fourth of July when they decided to stop by a Manhattan Whole Foods supermarket. Security guards told the cops a woman was shoplifting groceries — and officers are now getting massive praise for their generous response.

The cops — now identified as Lt. Louis Sojo and Officers Esnaidy Cuevas and Michael Rivera — were on the way to grab a snack and cold drink in the store when security guards told them a woman was stealing food, Sojo said at a press conference Friday. The cops approached her to assess the situation.

“I asked her, ‘What’s going on?’ She told me she was hungry,” said Sojo.”So, I looked in her bag. I decided — we decided — to say ‘We’ll pay for her food.'”

Sojo said the security guard was shocked by the kind response, but brought the officers over to the cashier to pay for the woman’s food. “At that moment, she was extremely emotional,” said Sojo. “She did thank us, but she was pretty much speechless at what happened.”

Film and TV director Paul Bozymowkski, who was in the store during the event, tweetedabout the incident Thursday afternoon, “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 also posted an image of the officers paying for the alleged shoplifter’s food, which appeared to show her getting emotional. The photo has over 2,000 likes and nearly 500 retweets at press time. Bozymowski told CBS News that “it was very moving to see such a genuine act of kindness.”

To read the full CBS News article, click here.

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