The long arm of the law apparently couldn’t resist taking the TastyKakes.

Sgt. Steve Brody of the campus police department at the State University of New York A&T College at Morrisville is accused of repeatedly shoplifting pastries from a local convenience store, reports The Post-Standard, in Syracuse, N.Y. Coffee at the Valero Nice N Easy is free to uniformed police officers, but the pastries aren’t.

Court documents state that Sergeant Brody had been warned months ago to stop stealing pastries but that a surveillance camera had subsequently captured him shoplifting at least 17 times.

“He was over by the coffee area when I heard this noise of crackling,” Jennifer Girard, a clerk at the store, said of an incident in March. “Basically I knew it was a wrapper of something. I was able to see Steve take a honey bun, and he put it into his coat pocket.”

Sergeant Brody would not comment to the newspaper. The college confirmed that he is an employee, but said it was a personnel matter and refused further comment. —Don Troop