Redditor Asks If He's An A**hole For Calling The Police On Woman He Found Stealing From His Greenhouse And Claiming To Be Hungry

"The audacity of some people."

Stephanie

• Published in Interesting
• August 1, 2023

Stealing is never okay, but what if someone is genuinely in need? Well, Reddit user u/AITAGreenHouse shared a story in the AITA (Am I The A**hole?) subreddit about an experience he had with a thief who claimed to be hungry.

You see, the OP lives in a small neighborhood and has a greenhouse in his backyard which is visible from the street. He explained that he has some security cameras in his yard, so when he spotted some movement near the greenhouse one day, he went out to investigate.

To the OP's surprise, he found one of his neighbors helping herself to some of the vegetables from the greenhouse. The OP shouted at the woman, and she replied by saying it was fine as she's "friends with the owner."

The Redditor told her that since he was the owner and he didn't know who she was, perhaps she should think again. When the woman realized she'd been caught red-handed, she tried to make a run for it with a large bag of food in hand. The OP told her to drop the bad, or he would press charges, to which the woman began crying and saying she needed the food for her child.

But the OP wasn't buying her story, so he called the police anyway. Now the woman and her friends are calling the OP an a**hole on Facebook.

The OP says he would have been happy to give the woman some vegetables if she had just asked first. Keep scrolling to see how people reacted.

The OP asked if he's an a**hole for not letting a woman take food from his greenhouse.

The OP explained that he has a greenhouse in his backyard that is visible from the street.

When the OP saw someone near the greenhouse on his security cameras, he went to investigate and discovered a woman helping herself to some vegetables.

The OP told the woman to leave immediately or he would press charges.

She began to cry and told the OP she needed the food for her child, but the OP called the police.

In an edit, the OP said he gave her the chance to leave but she screamed at him and broke one of his pots.

He said that if she had have asked first, he would have been happy to share some food with her.

Here's how people reacted.

"She's just mad she got caught."

Time to start locking the greenhouse!

"She stole from you."

If she needs food assistance, she can get food stamps.

"It's not that difficult."

NTA.

"Birds of a feather flock together."

"She was stealing and now she's slandering you."

"What you did is pretty reasonable."

"She's the major AH here."

"The audacity of some people."

"She could have asked instead of stealing from you."

"The sheer audacity!"

"She knew exactly what she was doing."

"She couldn't just ask first if she needed it that bad?"

What's your take on this situation? Do you think the OP overreacted by calling the police, or did he do the right thing by not letting the woman get away with stealing?

We would love to hear your opinions on this. You can share your thoughts with us in the comment section.

Stephanie