A Mississippi police officer found herself on the wrong side of the law after being arrested for shoplifting sneakers while on duty.
The incident, involving now-former Columbus Officer Robin Conner, 33, unfolded at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store, where Conner was apprehended as she attempted to leave the store wearing a $140 pair of tennis shoes.
“We’re putting her in jail,” Chief Joseph Daughtry, who personally responded to arrest Conner, told The Columbus Dispatch. “It’s embarrassing for the department, but we’re going to treat her like we would anybody else.”
The arrest was the culmination of a sequence of events that began when a store employee caught Conner in the act of stealing the shoes and detained her before calling 911. Upon learning that the suspect was a uniformed officer, dispatchers contacted Conner’s precinct, prompting Daughtry, his assistant chief and the officer’s captain to respond to the scene.
Conner’s arrest was carried out by her colleagues, who then transported her to the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center in her own patrol car.
Following the incident, the Columbus City Council voted unanimously to terminate Conner’s employment with the police department, where she had served for two years.
Charged with misdemeanor shoplifting for stealing items valued at less than $1,000, Conner was released on an $862 surety bond. Daughtry reflected on the incident’s impact on the department’s relationship with the community, expressing disappointment but reaffirming the department’s dedication to accountability and higher standards of conduct.
“And the community is just starting to trust us — and to take this gut punch really hurts. That’s why we fulfilled our obligation, not only to the store, but to the community,” Daughtry said.
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