An Edmonton woman was able to meet and thank the police officer who helped her instead of ticketing her for having her car windows covered in snow.
Jessica Shmigelsky said she deserved to get a ticket last Tuesday, but instead, she was surprised by a random act of kindness from a local police officer.
She didn’t catch his name, but took a photo of him and shared it on Facebook. The post went viral, spreading across Canada to Nova Scotia, where the officer’s sister identified him as Travis Jordan.
Shmigelsky said she was on her way to get groceries when she found her car buried in a foot of snow.
Remembering that she had broken her snow brush, Shmigelsky made the decision to drive the vehicle anyway.
“It broke a couple weeks ago in one of the cold snaps,” she said. “I just never thought to get another one because it was nice out.”
Shmigelsky said she was hoping she wouldn’t get caught.
“I thought I could swing it because Loblaws is two blocks away from me,” she explained.
“But within 30 seconds of leaving my apartment, the cop pulls me over — he put on his siren and I knew exactly why I was being pulled over.”
The officer pulled up beside her and after explaining her situation she was asked to pull over — but what happened next was unexpected.
“Next thing you know, he’s coming out of his car with a snow brush,” Shmigelsky said.
“He was just brushing off my car, we chatted, and then he just left.”
She said the positive interaction made her tear up and reminded her that “there are good people in the world” — a particularly comforting thought in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Before he went he said: ‘I’ve been on the force for 10 years and this is a first. I’ve never brushed snow off someone’s car.’”
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When Shmigelsky and Jordan met Tuesday, he gifted her with a new snow brush.
A ticket for driving with ice or snow on your windshield costs $155.