Sometimes we do, but it depends on the circumstances. It depends on the crime. I would not have done this if the crime was against another person (such as a battery).

I was training a new officer many years ago. We grabbed the zone file after the squad room briefing, and I noticed there was a warrant for failure to appear in court on a criminal matter for a frequent flyer in our zone. The wanted subject was "Christopher", a 20-something I had arrested for various non violent crimes in the past. I knew Christopher lived in an apartment with "Joey", with whom I had a similar relationship.

I had never had any violent interactions with these guys. They just had a habit of liking things that belonged to other people.

Joey's father had recently died in a traffic accident in Indiana. A year earlier Joey's brother had been electrocuted while trying to steal the copper fuses from an electric company compound, and though he survived, he was a paraplegic

So we went to their apartment with the warrant, and from the common hallway I knocked on the door. From inside we heard, "Come in!"

My rookie asked me what we should do. I advised him we had been invited inside.

So I opened the unlocked door and we stepped inside. Joey was sitting on the couch. On the coffee table in front of him was a scale and a little pile of weed (about 30 grams). Joey was in the process of rolling a joint.

The look on his face was priceless.

I said, "Joey, Joey, Joey. Never just invite people in without knowing who they are. It could be the Big Bad Wolf."

Joey was holding the half rolled joint in midair, thinking if he didn't move it I wouldn't see it. I said, "Where's Chris?"

Joey said, "I swear to God, Officer Bruno, he's not here." He was expecting me to arrest him.

I told him to tell Chris about the warrant. I flushed the weed down his toilet, but left him his joint.

As we walked out, I told him to lock the damn door.

My rookie asked why we didn't arrest him. I did my best to explain to him that sometimes people don't need to be arrested that day.

Joey never became a model citizen, but he wasn't an axe murderer either. I haven't heard of him in 25 years. Hope he's ok.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Do-police-officers-ever-let-criminals-go-because-they-sympathise-with-them


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