Instead of arresting her, a police officer paid for the $15 in diapers that a single mother was suspected of stealing

Over the weekend, Laurel Police Officer Bennett Johns responded to a theft call at a Maryland grocery store.

His suspect was a mother who’d been accused of stealing $15 in diapers. While Ofc. Johns cited her for the theft — a misdemeanor — he also paid for her diapers, having grown up with a single mother himself and recognizing what they were going through.

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Seeing the toddler and his mother made him “see myself growing up with a single mother […] I want him to have a better life too,” Ofc. Johns told Fox 5.

He did not arrest the mother, though she’ll have to answer to the theft citation.

Johns went on, telling Fox 5 the mother “was going out of her way and doing everything she can to provide for her kid and I can respect that […] I can sympathize with that as well so that is why I felt compelled to help the mother in purchasing the diapers for the kid.”

His handling of the incident prompted commendations from Laurel Police Chief Richard McLaughlin and Craig Moe, the mayor of Laurel.

Chief McLaughlin told Fox 5 he was proud.

“I’m very proud of my officers, all of my officers, and particularly this one,” he said, adding that Johns did “the right thing for the right reason when nobody [was] watching.”

Mayor Moe agreed, adding “They do many many things that the general public doesn’t really see.”