Gotham has enjoyed Batman‘s protection for decades now, but Texas just got a taste of the vigilante’s justice. The city of Fort Worth saw one of its police officers don the Dark Knight’s suit, and he nabbed a thief looking to steal a movie about the hero.
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As reported by The Chron, Batman helped catch a shoplifter who tried to pick up the LEGO Batman movie for free. Police officer Damon Cole was at a local Walmart for a special child safety fair which required him to dress up at Batman. During the event, the store’s anti-theft alarms went off, and the officer was quick to apprehend the thieving suspect.
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“I showed up dressed as Batman and the alarm went off. A door greeter tried to stop a gentleman but he exited without talking,” Cole explained.
Cole then followed the suspect to his car and identified himself as an off-duty police officer. The man refused to admit he’d stolen anything, but Cole eventually learned the suspect had lifted four DVDs – and one of them was the LEGO Batman movie.
“I told him, man, you can’t steal my movie,” Cole explained. The officer wrote up a citation for attempting to steal less than $100 of merchandise. The suspect even asked Cole to take a selfie with him given their ironic encounter, and the officer only agreed to do so if the suspect did not steal in the future.
“This was definitely a first,” Cole explained.
It may have been Cole’s first time nabbing a criminal whilst in costume, but the officer has dressed up as a hero for work before. Over the last four years, Cole has attended various children events which have tasked him with becoming Batman.
“I have a Batman cape in my back window. I have an Iron Man mask and a Spider-Man mask in my back windows,” Cole explained. “Kids love superheroes. I tell kids that with great power come great responsibility. I tell kids that police officers are no different than anyone else,” Cole said.
The officer’s love of superheroes has reached a point where he uses it for charity. Cole created a non-profit organization called Heroes and Cops Against Childhood Cancer. The company aims to improve the lives of sick kids, and Cole says he has visited children’s hospitals in more than 15 states already; He hopes to expand his reach to all 50 states in the future.
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