Police officer feeds a hungry family...

[oldandslow]

Yeah, I know stories like this disrupt the narrative, but still....

TARRANT, Alabama - Helen Johnson stared in amazement at the piles of food accumulating in her small Tarrant apartment on Wednesday.

"The last time I saw my house this full, I was 12-years-old and staying with my grandmother,'' said the 47-year-old mother and grandmother. "I've been crying all day."

On Wednesday, Tarrant police delivered two truckloads of groceries to the woman, who on Saturday was caught stealing five eggs from the nearby Dollar General. Instead of arresting Johnson, Tarrant Police Officer William Stacy bought her a carton of eggs and sent her home with the promise to never shoplift again.

That in itself, Johnson said, was a blessing. But those blessings now seem to have taken on a life of their own. Tarrant police said they've received calls from across the United States and world since hearing of Johnson's plight. People have offered food, money and clothing.

It's been so overwhelming, said Tarrant Police Chief Dennis Reno, he had to bring in a second police dispatcher to handle the volume of calls. Police officials today also set up a fund at People's First Federal Credit Union on Ford Avenue in Tarrant to benefit the Johnson family.
Tarrant Police Deliver Food to Grandmother Caught Stealing Eggs Tarrant Police officer delivered food to Helen Johnson, the grandmother caught stealing eggs at a Dollar General on Monday. Officer William Stacy responded to the scene and bought Johnson the eggs rather than arresting her. The act of kindness was caught on video and has become a viral sensation.

"It's growing and growing and growing,'' Reno said. " A guy called me from New York and just broke down. He said for two months he's been angry with police, and he said this has totally changed his mind."

A food bank from Memphis is set to arrive in Tarrant this evening. "This woman's getting plenty of food,'' the chief said. "She shouldn't be hungry for a while."

What a difference a week makes. Johnson's two daughters, a niece and two grandchildren, ages 1 and 3, live with her in their Tarrant home. The kids' mother gets a welfare check - $120 a month - but that check was lost in the mail. Johnson herself gets a disability check, which is set to come this week.

By Saturday, the family had gone two days without food. Johnson went to Dollar General on Pinson Valley Parkway with $1.25 and thought that would be enough to buy a carton of eggs. When she realized she was 50 cents plus tax short, she stuffed five eggs in her pocket out of desperation.

She didn't get far. "Of course when I put them in my jacket pocket they broke,'' Johnson said in an earlier interview. "I'm not a good thief at all."

A store worker stopped Johnson and asked her if she had taken the eggs. She said she did, and they said they had already called the police.

By the time she got to the door, Tarrant police Officer William Stacy was there, and told her to stay put. The officer said he'd already talked to Dollar General officials and they said they weren't going to press charges.

Johnson didn't know that, and said she was waiting for him to bring out the handcuffs. Instead, he went into the store and came back out with a carton of eggs. "She started crying, she got very emotional and was very apologetic,'' Stacy said. "She tried to give me the money she had on her, $1.25."

Johnson said she was stunned. "I was like, 'Oh my God, thank you Jesus for this man,''' she said. "He is my hero."

Stacy said he can remember times growing up when his mother had trouble finding ways to feed him and his sister. He had been on a call to Johnson's house once before, and had gotten a glimpse of the living conditions. The furnishings are sparse, and the family sleeps on mattresses on the floor.

"The story she told me Saturday matched up with what I had seen when I was there,'' he said. "I felt like it was the right thing to do. I didn't want to pass judgment on her."

She asked how she could repay him, and he told her to not shoplift again. "Sometimes the best route is to not arrest,'' Stacy said. "I hope she won't do it again. I pray she doesn't, and I don't think she will."

Johnson asked Stacy if she could hug him, and he said yes. Unbeknownst to both of them, a man named Robert "Dollar" Tripp filmed the scene on his cell phone and later posted it on his Facebook with the hashtag "feelgoodstoryoftheday."

The story went viral. On Tuesday, Tarrant police showed up at her home. "I was shook and so scared," she said. "I thought it was about the eggs. My grandbaby said, 'Are you going to jail?' and I said I hoped not."

Instead, Tarrant police took Johnson to headquarters, where they signed her up for the annual Tarrant Toy Drive, and also are helping to coordinate the offers of food and clothing also pouring in, said Tarrant police Sgt. Larry Rice.

On Wednesday, Stacy and Officer Jay Jenkins took two loads of food to Johnson's apartment. She couldn't stop crying, and she couldn't stop hugging Stacy. "I just busted out and started hollering,'' Johnson said of all the food delivered to her home. "I was yelling so loud. I would have been a good cheerleader."

With help from a nearby church, Johnson spent much of Wednesday reorganizing her kitchen cabinets to make room for all the food. The family, who by Tuesday was down to one slice of bread, had their pick of what to eat.

So what did they eat? "Cereal,'' she said. "That's our favorite."

Her grandchildren were also happy to see the officers at their apartment. "You back?" said 3-year-old Tamarose, as she grabbed various cans of food to show the family.

Asked what she would do if someone else in need asked her for a slice of bread, she said, "I would give them the whole loaf. And then I would give them Officer Stacy's number."

Johnson said her life is forever changed because of the actions of Stacy and the Tarrant Police Department. "My heart,'' she said, "is wide open right now."

Anyone who wants to make a donation to Johnson can do so at People's First Federal Credit Union. Checks should be made payable to the Tarrant Police Charity Fund c/o the Johnson Family. Checks can be mailed to the bank at 1140 Ford Avenue, Tarrant, Alabama 35217.

[Saul Good]

I wonder if any random black people ever help out a poor family? I'm guessing they don't. Otherwise we'd surely get coverage fawning over the generosity of random black people in the media, right?

Now, when it's a random black guy's word against a cop's word, everyone will go, "Hurr durr I believe the police officer because they help poor families and random black dudes don't. He must have had it coming."

[Marcellus]

What isn't reported is the cop force fed them/CP.

[Dave Lane]

Good story and the cop was a good guy. It's hard to imagine that most people wouldn't have done at least the eggs but he went beyond that even. Well done.

[crazycoffey]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

I wonder if any random black people ever help out a poor family? I'm guessing they don't. Otherwise we'd surely get coverage fawning over the generosity of random black people in the media, right?

Now, when it's a random black guy's word against a cop's word, everyone will go, "Hurr durr I believe the police officer because they help poor families and random black dudes don't. He must have had it coming."

How many times have you done random acts of good? With or without media coverage?

I've done plenty similar to this story and never had media coverage. Never sought it out either. To me it would lessen the act a little.

[Rudy tossed tigger's salad]

Originally Posted by crazycoffey

How many times have you done random acts of good? With or without media coverage?

I've done plenty similar to this story and never had media coverage. Never sought it out either. To me it would lessen the act a little.

Nobody believes that you are sharing your twinkies, you fat ****ing pig.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by crazycoffey

How many times have you done random acts of good? With or without media coverage?

I've done plenty similar to this story and never had media coverage. Never sought it out either. To me it would lessen the act a little.

Thanks for not going to the media every time you do something nice. I'll only dock the act 10% for talking about it here. Going to local media would have been 25%. National would be 50%.

[-King-]

Police officers doing something good is now a news story.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Nickel D]

It's suspected that some of that 'food' was from a recent Tucson roadkill.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by -King-

Police officers doing something good is now a news story.
Posted via Mobile Device

It's nice to find out public servants do good things every now and again...

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by Nickel D

It's suspected that some of that 'food' was from a recent Tucson roadkill.

Lol

[Saul Good]

Other officers around the country have been reducing the number of hungry people by thinning the herds.

[Arrowhead Thunder]

as cool as the cops were, the people at the store who called the cops over five eggs is an asshole.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Arrowhead Thunder

as cool as the cops were, the people at the store who called the cops over five eggs is an asshole.

How many eggs does someone have to steal before it should be considered a crime?

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Other officers around the country have been reducing the number of hungry people by thinning the herds.

If they were it would be service to all humanity.

If cops in Missouri were more violent in the 70's there wouldn't have been a Heaven's Gate cult...

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Baconeater

How many eggs does someone have to steal before it should be considered a crime?

From me or from Wal-Mart?...