Police Detective Shoplifts Tote Full of Items at Walmart

Melissa Ward, an officer with the White Mountain Apache Police Department, walks into a Walmart in Show Low, Arizona and is followed through the store by loss prevention. According to LP, she grabs a red storage tote, opens it, loads items inside, and closes it after each one — only paying for the empty tote itself at checkout. After being stopped twice trying to exit through the General Merchandise doors, she finally leaves through the grocery side, where Show Low PD is waiting.
 

When officers review the surveillance footage, loss prevention identifies two additional prior visits — one tote filled with toys, another filled with candy — bringing the total value high enough to consider felony charges. Ward initially claims she was distracted, on the phone with her mother, and looking for lost keys. After being told the prior videos exist, she admits to shoplifting from the store in the past.
 

Show Low officers extend professional courtesy throughout the stop, but the conversation with her own chief and supervisor on scene makes clear the situation is out of their hands.