Police caught a woman stealing 5 eggs for her starving family, then did something unexpected

47-year-old Helen Johnson was thinking that she was going to be put into jail. All she knew was that she needed to feed her two daughters, a niece, and two toddler grandchildren who hadn’t eaten anything for two days. But a visit to the Dollar General Store left her disappointed when she realized that she was missing just over 50 cents to buy the eggs. Left with no choice, she thought of stealing them but was caught red-handed. She expected police officer William Stacy to handcuff her. Instead, he walked away and came back with way more than she had imagined. Robert Tripp, a local from Tarrant, Alabama, shared the heart-wrenching scene in a Facebook post.

Not a 'good thief'

“I was in Tarrant City today, and a lady was caught red-handed stealing eggs. Instead of the police taking her to jail, he bought the items she was stealing and gave them to her. #feelgoodstoryoftheday,” Tripp wrote. According to AL.com, Johnson didn’t try to run away. Instead, she started crying, confessing immediately that she stole the eggs. The eggs, in fact, had broken inside her pocket. “I’m not a good thief at all,” she lamented. Ever since the incident caught air on the internet, donations of money, food, and clothing started pouring in from across the world.

The treatment of a 'hero'

Stacy, whom Johnson called a “hero,” said he didn’t expect the incident to garner so much attention, but he was happy about it because it was changing the way people view police in America. “It’s good that this type of story… gives a positive image for law enforcement. We’re not all crooked individuals.” After the incident, Stacy and Officer Jay Jenkins visited Johnson’s house, bringing two loads of food. She couldn’t stop crying and hugged the officer.

"I just busted out and started hollering," Johnson described of all the food they had brought for her family, “The last time I saw my house this full, I was 12-years-old and staying with my grandmother. I've been crying all day.”

A need for 'integrity'

In that moment, Officer Stacy displayed what psychologists call integrity. Research published in Frontiers in Sociology documented the responses of 22 police officers and reported that 68% of them identified integrity as a foundational trait for cultivating public trust, apart from emotional intelligence, compassion, and empathy. A study published in PNAS noted that psychological intervention through empathy yielded 13% reduction in rule violation and recidivism, the tendency of a criminal to reoffend or relapse into criminal behavior. Instead of punishment, empathy and understanding do wonders in transforming criminals, most of whom are driven by pain and hurt.

No longer fearing the police

As for Johnson and her family, they are no longer afraid to see police officers at their door. Instead, they expect food, cereal being their favorite. A 3-year-old toddler from her home was asked what she would do when someone asked for bread. The child said, “I would give them the whole loaf. And then I would give them Officer Stacy’s number.” That’s the kind of police officer the world needs.

You can follow Robert Tripp (@robertdollar.tripp) on Facebook to stay notified of their content.

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