Instead Of Arresting Him, A Cop Helped Out A Single Dad Who Tried To Steal Baby Formula

The man said he couldn't afford to pay for it.

By
Stephanie McNeal
by Stephanie McNeal

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Officer Justin Roby responded to a call reporting a shoplifter stealing baby formula at a Kroger supermarket in Kentucky last month.

London Police Department / Via Facebook: London-City-Police-Department

When he arrived, the store's manager reported that a man in the store had attempted to steal the formula, Captain Darrell Kilburn of the London Police Department told BuzzFeed News.

Officer Roby spoke with the store's manager, who agreed not to press charges. Roby then decided to try and help the man out by buying him a few cans of baby formula, Kilburn said.

The man told Roby he was a single father who could not afford to buy formula for his six-month-old baby, WKYT reported.

"Me citing him for court wouldn't have done any good for him," Roby told WKYT. "He's already short on money, can't afford formula, so me making him appear in court, he's still not going to have any food for that baby."

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Kilburn said the department is proud of Roby's act of kindness, but that it was not unusual.

"This is not an uncommon thing," he said. "We have officers helping people every day in that way."

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