A former police officer caught a thief – with a fine

Ex-cop Norman Brennan helped police catch a shoplifter.

Norman Brennan ended up being fined while the thief was released.

– It's a pure farce, the only person being punished here is me, says Norman Brennan daily Mail.

Norman Brennan (64 years old) worked as a police officer for 31 years before retiring in 2009.

He was recently near a store in London when he saw employees running after a man, leading Norman Brennan to suspect that the man was a shoplifter.

– I followed him in my car, drove in front of him, jumped out and faced him. “Then he turned and ran behind some houses,” Norman Brennan says.

When the man fled shortly afterwards, Norman Brennan followed him into an industrial area. While driving, call the police. When the police arrived at the scene, Norman Brennan told them where the man was hiding.

Norman Brennan then drove back along the thief's escape route and found nine expensive bottles of wine in a backpack thrown behind the houses where the man was first hiding. He handed the manual to the store manager.

I got a fine instead of praise

But instead of being commended for his civic bravery, Norman Brennan was fined SEK 1,700 for briefly driving the wrong way on a one-way street during the car chase. He did it because otherwise he would have lost sight of the man.

“I was driving very carefully down the street,” says Norman Brennan.

When he appealed the fine, he was rejected with the following words: “Even though you were following an alleged shoplifter, you had no right to drive in that direction on that street.”

However, the robber got away completely because the store manager chose not to report him to the police.

There's something wrong with the justice system, it's not working, says Norman Brennan.

13 billion Swedish krona are stolen annually in Great Britain. Police Minister Chris Philp had previously appealed to the public to help stop shoplifters.

– The message seems to be that in Britain today, you can go into a store and steal whatever you want, knowing that you will not be punished even if the police catch you, says Norman Brennan.