Czech police officers purchase baby formula for mother caught shoplifting

Three police officers in Opava, in the Moravian-Silesian region of the Czech Republic, showed some genuine and unexpected kindness earlier this week when responding to a routine call.

After arriving to a report of shoplifting at one of the city's supermarkets, the three-member patrol found a crying mother detained by store security, Opava Chief of Police Jiří Klein recounts on Facebook.

The woman had been caught shoplifting Sunar, a Czech brand of baby formula, along with snacks and other food items for infants. Wine was also found among the stolen items.

The mother confessed to stealing the items, and the goods were returned to the store. The officers handed the woman a 500 crown misdemeanor fine for shoplifting the wine.

After the matter was resolved, the police officers banded together and purchased the food items for the child to give to the mother. The bill, paid for from the officers' pockets, came to around 1000 crowns.

"I thank these three musketeers for their extremely sensitive and kind approach to resolving the matter," Klein writes.

"I'm proud of you."

To further assist the mother, the officers arranged for her to contact officials from the local Department of Social Affairs, who will look into her case.