"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Yes, There Are Decent Cops

This story is a much-needed lift:

On Oct. 4, Officer Ben Hall of Emmett Township, Mich., received a call to investigate a car in which, reportedly, an unsecured child was observed. Alexis DeLorenzo and her daughter were riding in this car with a friend. When Hall pulled them over, things didn't go as expected. When Hall walked over to the car, he saw that DeLorenzo's 5-year-old daughter was wearing a seat belt but was not secured in a booster seat. In Michigan, child safety restraints are required for children under the age of 7. "When I spoke to [DeLorenzo], she was very forthcoming and knew that the child should be in a booster seat," Hall said. He added, "She admitted that she was wrong and that she had recently fallen on hard times."

Hall said DeLorenzo told him that her car had been repossessed that day with her daughter's booster seat in it, and she simply couldn't afford a replacement booster seat. Instead of writing DeLorenzo a ticket, Hall decided to address the problem with, to his mind, a more productive solution. "A ticket doesn't solve the situation," Hall told WXMI-TV. "What solves it is the child being in the booster seat like she should be." Hall instructed DeLorenzo to meet him at the local Walmart. There, instead of writing her a ticket, he purchased a booster seat for her. DeLorenzo was overwhelmed by the officer's understanding and compassion. Hall didn't seem fazed; he said, "It was the easiest 50 bucks I ever spent."

Via Hullabaloo.

No comments: