An Alabama Police officer was called to a supermarket after a grandmother was caught stealing eggs to feed her grandchildren who hadn’t eaten in two days. Tarrant Police Officer William Stacy responded to the scene, and what he did next had her calling him “hero”.
Helen Johnson was desperate to feed her grandkids after her welfare check failed to arrive. She went to the grocery store to buy eggs, but found she was 50 cents short of being able to afford the carton. That’s when she decided to slip five eggs in her jacket pocket. She told WIAT, “I actually thought that if I didn’t feed those babies, they were going to die.”
The eggs broke in her pocket and a store worker stopped her and asked her if she had taken the eggs. She said she did, and they said they had already called the police.
When Officer Stacy arrived, Helen told him she needed help to “put food in my babies’ stomachs. He recounted, “That’s what got me. That’s what hit me the hardest.” He told her to wait in the parking lot and went inside and bought her a carton of eggs. She was stunned.
“She started crying, she got very emotional and was very apologetic,” Stacy told AL.com. “She tried to give me the money she had on her, $1.25.”
Officer Stacy’s act of kindness was caught on video by a bystander at the store at the time.
The kindness continued after Stacy got back to the station. After the Tarrant Police Department learned of the Johnson family’s predicament, they signed them up for a local toy drive and collected food donations from the community. Two truckloads of groceries were delivered to a the Johnson’s doorstep. Helen was overwhelmed.
“I was just getting eggs and now that’s saved my life,” Helen told AL.com. “I’ve never been more grateful in my life. I’m so overwhelmed with the goodness of these people. My heart is wide open right now.”
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