When an elderly Upper East Side resident’s wallet was stolen during a grocery store theft, 19 Precinct officers went above and beyond to help her after the crime. On February 2, Police Officers Conley, Santana, Zigrosser, and Obrahim responded to a larceny call at a local supermarket. While Officers Conley and Santana went to the location of the crime, Officers Zigrosser and Obrahim checked up on the 78-year-old woman at her residence.
According to the victim, she stepped away from her cart for a brief moment and when she returned, her wallet was gone. The elderly woman was unable to pay for her items and left the store empty-handed. While gathering pertinent information from the victim on the phone, Police Officer Conley asked the woman to list the items she had in her cart. Struck by how sweet she was, Officer Conley knew this was a perfect teaching moment for the rookie officers he works with:
“When she said she couldn’t pay for her groceries it broke my heart. As a Field Training Officer, it was a great opportunity to show my trainees that in any situation you can go the extra mile to take care of the community.”
As the officers worked on getting surveillance footage of the thief, a store employee gathered the items the victim intended on purchasing. The officers then pooled their money to pay for the items and delivered the groceries to the victim’s apartment. Officer Zigrosser described how he felt upon seeing her reaction to the surprise delivery:
“To help someone who was victimized and see the smile on her face…it was a priceless feeling.”
