You read that right. What starts as a small shoplifting scare over a pair of Crocs spirals into one of the most awkward — and strangely tense — police encounters you’ll hear all week.
A raw, unedited snippet of conversation (transcribed below) captures moments from a police stop in Linwood that involve: a frazzled parent, a stroller, a pair of Crocs, a worrying custody standoff… and a name-drop about a “husband” who works in law enforcement. The result? The officers try to balance enforcing the law with making sure a child doesn’t get taken into care. It gets messy. Fast.
Here’s what went down — reworked into plain English because the original audio reads like a surreal short film.
The Scene
Officers confronted a woman who’d left a shop with an item they say wasn’t paid for — Crocs. She insists it was an accident, saying she was busy caring for her child, that she “didn’t mean to” and that she was going to pay. The exchange quickly becomes a tug-of-war between “citation or arrest” and “where will the child go?”
“I literally was gonna pay for those… I didn’t mean to walk out. I was caring for my child.”
The big twist
Mid-argument, the woman repeatedly tells officers her husband works in law enforcement — clearly trying to sway the situation — but refuses to give more details or a contact. The officers respond the only way they can: they say they can’t detain the child’s welfare to the woman’s assertion alone. They ask for a responsible adult to be contacted to pick up the child. No number, no name. Cue the tension.
“I can’t detain her because she stole Crocs… she’s telling me her husband’s law enforcement, but she won’t tell me anything else.”
Trying to avoid Child Protection Services
The officers make it clear they’re trying not to involve child protective services (CPS), but they need someone to take the kid. The woman begs them not to call CPS, promises she has people — a mother, maybe a friend called Morgan — but details are thin. The mother’s phone goes straight to voicemail. The friend’s number is reportedly in the woman’s phone, so one officer asks for the phone to contact the friend directly.
When the officer finally calls, she introduces herself politely — but the situation remains precarious.
“My hope is that I don’t have to call CPS… I need a responsible party’s name and phone number to come pick him up.”
The awkward, human bits
The clip includes quieter moments: a little child in the back of the car being offered food, a frantic parent pleading, policemen debating whether to “book” the woman, and the reality check that committing crimes in front of a child complicates everything.
“With her committing crimes in front of her child… I feel comfortable… like using the child stroller to commit these crimes.”
The takeaway
This slice-of-life chaos shows how tiny incidents — a pair of Crocs, an unpaid item — can cascade into much larger welfare and legal concerns when a child is involved. It’s not just about footwear anymore: it’s about who will care for a child in a system that has strict rules and limited patience.
Whether you side with the officers trying to do a job or the overwhelmed parent who insists it was a mistake, one thing’s for sure — this is not the Crocs ad anyone expected.
Want the full verbatim chunk of the exchange? Here’s the raw transcription as it appeared to us (unedited for authenticity):
(Transcript excerpted above — dramatic, disjointed, and entirely the kind of policing audio that makes you wonder what happens behind closed doors.)
If this clip is genuine, it raises uncomfortable questions about policing, parenting, and how the system handles small crimes committed with children nearby. Thoughts? Would you call CPS in the same situation — or try harder to find a family member first?
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