US policeman buys nappies and shoes for mum caught shoplifting

Roeland Park Police Officer Mark Engravalle found Sarah Robison and her six children in a Walmart car park and used his own money to buy them nappies and shoes

When a Kansas police officer was called to investigate a woman caught shop lifting, rather than arrest her, he used his own money to help the mother-of-six.

Roeland Park Police Officer Mark Engravalle found Sarah Robison and her six children in a Walmart car park. He immediately noticed that three of her children were not wearing shoes and that the $300 of stolen goods contained nappies, children’s shoes and baby wipes.

Robinson, who was left widowed after her husband died three years ago in an accidental drowning, said that she was homeless and that she and her daughters were living out of their car, occasionally sharing a rented one room bedroom in a stranger’s house.

She told ABC News: “I had lost my house and all of our belongings, and I don't have a job. So I went to Walmart, grabbed clothes, shoes, diapers, wipes, and I just walked out, but they caught me”

When Engravalle asked about Robinson’s situation he said that she broke down and started crying.

“Being a father myself, it obviously pulled at my heart,” Engravalle told KSHB. “Walmart might see her as a criminal but I just see her as a mom going through a really difficult time.”

Engavalle bought Robinson and her family wipes, nappies and shoes for her daughters, all of which he paid for with his own money.

Engravalle had to give Robinson a ticket for breaking the law, but she said that she was grateful to not be arrested and that Engavalle had helped the family.

"We were both in tears, it was more of a mutual understanding," said Engravalle.

"'She said thank you. The look on her children's face with the shoes and everything, that's all that had to be said."

Since Engravalle’s moment of kindness, The Roeland Park Police Department have received over $6,000 in donations for Robinson and her family, and the department have set up a savigs account for her at a local bank.