To protect and serve and occasionally smell women’s shoes.

On 18 May a 30-year-old officer turned in his badge and gun after he was caught on camera sniffing the shoes of a female officer whom he fancied.

In February of this year the officer in question entered an office of the Echizen Station in Fukui Prefecture in the middle of the night. He was on duty at the time and managed to get a master key for the station which he used to access the office.

While inside, he tracked down the shoes and other personal belongings of a female colleague and proceeded to smell and caress said items. Little did he know that someone had installed surveillance cameras in the building which caught the lovelorn lawman red-nosed.

▼ What was probably going on in his mind
during the secret sniffing sessions.

When confronted, he wasted no time confessing his transgression, and facing trespassing charges he was given the option of voluntarily resigning from the force. The Fukui Police issued a statement saying, “Although the act of sniffing shoes is not illegal, it is inappropriate for an officer of the law.”

While an open and shut case in itself, there were still many unanswered questions that left readers scratching their heads.

“What the hell?”
“I know its wrong to laugh but….”
“The guy has a fetish, self-control is not an option.”
“Everyone has their thing, police officers are not different.”
“I also want to smell the things of my favorite lady. Good to know it isn’t illegal.”
“Does her shoes really smell all that different from anyone else’s?”
“Why is the Fukui Police addressing the shoe smelling and not the unlawful entry in their statement?”
“Isn’t this sexual harassment?”
“Creepy… and why isn’t it illegal to smell and touch another person’s things?”

Indeed it does seem like there ought to be a law against smelling another person’s shoes along the lines of trespassing or harassment. Perhaps the Fukui Police felt the crippling embarrassment of getting caught doing something like that was punishment enough and decided to just send him packing instead of pressing charges.

In addition, this former officer with an overactive olfactory system will now have to explain to future potential employers why he resigned from the force at the tender age of 30. Luckily, smells are a big industry these days and that includes the odors of the fairer sex, so he may just land on his feet yet.

Source: NHK, Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso