NYPD officers' compassionate gesture leaves shoplifting suspect in tears

An unidentified woman accused of shoplifting at a Manhattan Whole Foods on Thursday ended up breaking down in tears of joy, after a group of New York Police Department officers paid for her groceries out of their own pockets instead of placing her under arrest.

What are the details?

According to witness Paul Bozymowski, who broke the story on Twitter, the woman was held by security at the store after being allegedly caught with goods in her bag that she hadn't purchased. A call was placed to the police, but three members of the NYPD Strategic Response Group were already on site to buy cold drinks and approached the shoplifting suspect, the Daily Mail reported.

Lt. Sojo and officers Cuevas and Rivera gathered around the woman to find out what was going on.

"And [the cop] said: 'I'll buy your food.' Just really simply and plainly," Bozymowski told the New York Post.

The woman started to cry, the witness said, because "she was just overwhelmed with gratitude for these officers."

The officers then accompanied the woman to the customer service check-out and purchased the items for her.

NYPD Officers Help Woman Buy Foodwww.youtube.com

Anything else?

News of the officers' good deed made it to their boss, thanks to Bozymowski's social media post.

NYPD Chief of Police Terence Monahan wrote on Twitter, "Cops like Lt. Sojo and Officers Cuevas and Rivera of the Strategic Response Group are the kind-hearted cops who quietly do good deeds for New Yorkers in need. My thanks to @pboz for highlighting the often unnoticed."