A Michigan police officer is being praised after turning a traffic violation into a teachable moment – and a generous gift – for a mother he pulled over.
Traverse City, Michigan police officer Adam Verschaeve was on patrol Saturday afternoon when he spotted a young child in the backseat of a car without a car seat.
So Officer Verschaeve pulled the car over, and questioned the woman about the lack of car seat for her daughter.
READ MORE: Officer buys car seat for child instead of ticketing mom
“I had spoke with mom and mom’s reasoning for not having her child in a car seat was that she was a single mother and couldn’t afford one,” Verschaeve said.
Officer Verschaeve determined that the woman was liable to receive a $65 ticket for the infraction. But the 12-year veteran of the Traverse City Police Department and one of the department’s car seat technicians decided to take a different approach.
The cost of the seat was around $50 – money that came out of the officer’s own pocket and for which he will not be reimbursed.
Since being shared to the department’s Facebook page, the story has been shared nearly 1000 times and has resulted in plenty of positive feedback for the department.
“It’s very rewarding to see the positive outcome and have a positive view on police,” Verschaeve said. “We’re people too and we have hearts. I know some people think that we are kind of robots and that we just go out and do a job but we also have families and we’re people. We have a role in the community.”
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