Thief steals from a thief

A young pickpocket tries to take the wallet of a man being frisked by a police officer in downtown Rio. According to Globo, the man was accused of having stolen from a woman, which he denied when the police officer arrived. The boy attempted to steal the man’s wallet three times. The minor was arrested.

The photo is too good. So good it looks set up, or posed. But I’ve seen the desperation of some pickpockets. I’ve seen outlandish, brazen attempts. So for now, I choose to think the photographer got a lucky shot of a real theft, or theft attempt.

This is from G1 Fotos on globo.com from September 4, 2013. It’s the fourth image in the slideshow.