Police officer buys diapers for young mother

(INSIDE EDITION)--A kind-hearted Maryland police officer bought diapers for a woman who was caught trying to steal them for her baby, police said.

The 20-year-old mother realized that she didn't have enough money for the diapers while at a local grocery store and was captured on security cameras trying to take them, police said.

Officer Bennett Johns, who is a rookie on the police force, showed sympathy towards the mom and bought the two packs of diapers for her.

"Though we often joke that our field trainees are still in diapers, it turns out that rookie Officer Johns was not buying these for himself," the Laurel Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.

Although he did issue the young mother a criminal citation for theft, police said he was fair.

"Though it's but a snapshot of some of the work your officers are doing daily, we still wanted to take a moment to thank Officer Johns for not just fairly enforcing the law, but also showing empathy to an innocent child put in a difficult situation," they wrote.