Last Monday, a shoplifter in Toronto was caught stealing an outfit for a job interview. But when Constable Niran Jeyanesan arrived to arrest him, he was moved by the 18-year-old’s story and decided to buy him the clothes instead.
Now the officer has revealed that the young man got the job, and will begin work next week.
“He is starting Monday,” Mr Jeyanesan told Canada’s CP24 by email.
“He told me he actually wore the shirt and the tie – I’m just so happy!”
Speaking last week, the officer said Walmart staff had apprehended the would-be thief for attempting to steal a dress shirt, tie and socks.
“This young person has been facing his own difficulties in life and he was looking to straighten out all that by providing for his family and trying to get a job,” Mr Jeyanesan said.
“This individual didn’t have any resources.
“He wanted to go get that job. That was in his mind. I think he truly made a mistake.”
The teenager had told the officer that his father was sick, and that the family had suffered difficult times as a result.
Constable Jeyanesan said that thanks to “some friends who were willing to help out”, the elder man is now employed as well.
Speaking to the BBC on 7 August, Mr Jeyanesan’s staff sergeant Paul Bois praised his actions.
“Arresting him [the 18-year-old] wouldn’t have been in the best interests of anyone,” he said.
“I reacted very positively to the news; all issues were resolved by the action the officer took.
“It reiterates our goal of being positive role models in the community.”
