Justice served?
Deer Park police officer charged with lunch theft after raiding officerefrigerator
Is stealing someone's drink out of a refrigerator a crime? It is in some places.Click2Houston
The Deer Park Police Department caught a lunch bandit in its ranks.Topix
In a normal office, a refrigerator raider might be met with a passive-aggressive note. But a police station takes disciplinary action much more seriously.
As KPRC-2 is reporting, Deer Park police chief Gregory Grigg had heard enough complaints from victims of lunch theft. So, after nearly a year of items disappearing from the department fridge, he set up a sting operation.
Grigg stocked the fridge with Monster Energy drinks, set up a hidden camera and waited for the perpetrator to take the bait.
"I think it will be a long time before we have anything missing out of the Deer Park Police Department refrigerator after this event," Grigg said.
Video footage showed that someone on the inside was responsible: Patrol officer Kevin Yang, a three-year veteran of the force.
Though Yang didn't admit culpability for the other incidents, he was given a 30-day suspension from the Deer Park police department (totaling approximately $4,500 in lost pay) and slapped with a class C misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine.
"I think it will be a long time before we have anything missing out of the Deer Park Police Department refrigerator after this event," Grigg told KPRC.
What say you? Is this a satisfying story of justice served, or a silly use of the department's resources?
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Photo by Leonid Furmansky