TORONTO – One Kansas police officer turned a would-be crime into an incredible moment of generosity.
Officer Mark Engravalle was called to a Walmart in Roeland Park, Kansas, Monday in response to a call for shoplifting. It seemed like a routine call.
But when he arrived he found Sarah Robinson, along with her six children, and a sobering picture began to develop.
Engravalle said Robinson broke down into tears as she told the officer that she and her six children were homeless, and were living out of a car. He said he noticed three of the children were not wearing any shoes, and their feet were covered in dirt.
Robinson said her husband had died in an accidental drowning in 2011, and the family had been struggling to get by ever since.
The officer then looked through the stolen items and discovered $300 worth of diapers, children’s shoes, and baby wipes among other essentials.
A father of two himself, Engravalle was deeply moved.
“Obviously she is going through a tough time,” Engravalle told KSHB News in Kansas City. “Walmart might see her as a criminal, but I just saw her as a mom going through a really difficult time.”
So he took action, first by writing Robinson a minor ticket for shoplifting.
Then he went back into the store, and paid her entire grocery bill out of his own pocket.
“[Officer Engravalle] helped us at a time when it seemed nobody else could,” Robinson told local media while fighting back tears.
Robinson’s ticket is currently pending in the Roeland Park Municipal Court. In the meantime, Roeland Park police have set up a line to handle donations to Robinson and her family.
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