A cop in Mississippi was arrested by her fellow police officers after she was caught swiping sneakers while in uniform and on duty. She was even taken into custody in her own squad car. The busted cop, who has since been fired, was 33-year-old Robin Conner, a former Columbus, Mississippi police officer.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, February 21. Then, former Officer Conner was strolling through a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Columbus when she was stopped by an employee of the shop. The employee caught her trying to walk out of the store with a $140 pair of tennis shoes. She had not paid for the shoes, so she was caught in the act of shoplifting, while in uniform.
Naturally, that moment was quite awkward and embarrassing for the department, which decided to put the offender in jail like it would do to any other shoplifter. Such is what Joseph Daughtry, the Columbus Police Department Chief, told a local news outlet, the Columbus Dispatch. Commenting on that, he said, “We’re putting her in jail.”
Continuing, the police chief noted that though the incident is highly embarrassing for Conner’s former fellow officers and department, in which she had served for two years, it will go ahead and treat her like any other offender. He said, “It’s embarrassing for the department, but we’re going to treat her like we would anybody else.”
Chief Daughtry also commented to local media on how awful the situation Conner created is for the department. “We have a job to do and we’re held to a higher standard,” he said. He continued, “And the community is just starting to trust us — and to take this gut punch really hurts.” He then added that the need to rebuild trust with the community came first, as shown by her arrest: “That’s why we fulfilled our obligation, not only to the store, but to the community.”
Further, Chief Daughtry commented on what happened with the employee of the Dick’s caught Conner attempting to steal the sneakers. According to Chief Daughtry, the store employee detained Officer Conner and then called 911 to report the crime and describe the wild situation to the dispatcher, noting that the officer was in uniform when caught and detained.
He then went on to note that after the dispatchers were told that the detained individual was an officer in uniform, they called a supervisor to report the situation and get leadership involved. So, Chief Daughtry, the officer’s captain, and Chief Daughtry’s assistant chief all responded to the call to deal with the highly problematic situation.
The heavyweight police response resulted in former Officer Conner being arrested by her colleagues, placed in her own cruiser, and transported to the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center. Once there, she was placed on administrative leave by the department, an immediate response to her detention and arrest, and then the Columbus City Council voted unanimously to fire her. That decision came on Thursday, February 22. Officer Conner has been charged with misdemeanor shoplifting for stealing goods worth less than $1,000 over the attempted sneaker theft, though she was given an $862 surety bond.
Featured image credit: Robin Conner/Facebook
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