TARRANT, Alabama -- A woman caught shoplifting eggs in Tarrant Saturday didn't leave with handcuffs and a court date. Thanks to a Tarrant police officer, she left with food for her family.

Officer William Stacy was called to the Dollar General on Pinson Valley Parkway when employees caught the woman trying to steal a dozen eggs, Tarrant Police Chief Dennis Reno said.

The woman had her young children in the car. She told Officer Stacy that she was only stealing because she was trying to feed her children.

Stacy talked with Dollar General, and they said they wouldn't prosecute. So Stacy made an offer.

"He said, 'If I give you these eggs, will you promise that you won't shoplift anymore?'" Reno said. "He knew that she was telling the truth and that's the reason he went in and bought the eggs."

[READ MORE: Grandmother caught stealing eggs to feed hungry children 'overwhelmed' by kindness of police]



Stacy bought the eggs and gave them to her, Reno said. The woman then asked if she could give him a hug.

A fellow shopper caught the hug on video, posted that on Facebook, and it had nearly 300,000 views on Facebook Monday afternoon.

[UPDATE: Tarrant police officer delivers groceries to woman caught stealing eggs at Dollar General]

"Police officers do this all the time. Of course, these are the kind of stories that never get told," Reno said. "Every police officer in Jefferson County has done this at one point in time."

Reno said this is one way police deal with issues -- not every incident ends with someone being hauled off to jail.

"We ask them to take appropriate action, but there are different kinds of actions that you have to take on each individual case."