Police officer buys diapers for shoplifting suspect

LAUREL, Md. – A rookie police officer in Maryland is garnering praise for an act of kindness he extended to a woman accused of shoplifting.

Officer Bennet Johns, who joined the Laurel Police Department in May, was called to a local grocery store on July 22 regarding a 20-year-old woman accused of shoplifting.

The woman, who reportedly bought some items but did not have $15 for two packs of diapers, was given a citation for misdemeanour shoplifting.

But Johns, who was raised by a single mother, was touched by the woman’s predicament and used his own money to buy the diapers for her toddler.

A photo of Johns at the cash register, taken by his training officer, began making the rounds of the internet after being posted to the police department’s Facebook page.