Two police officers in Texas decided to buy a struggling father a child’s car seat instead of ticketing him after they pulled him over earlier this month for having an expired registration and malfunctioning light, KVUE.com reported.
The Cedar Park police officers pulled over the truck and saw three children in the backseat without car seats. They did not know the man, but they remembered other officers saying that he had been living in a car trying to save money.
KVUE Photo
11Alive: “They were living in a hotel and he said all of his money was going to that at this time,” said Hawkins.
In that moment, Gower and Hawkins made a judgment call. “Giving him three tickets, it wasn’t going to do any good,” said Gower. “Those kids were still going to have to be driven somewhere, somehow with no car seats.”
“We just kind of stepped off to the side and said we need to kind of do the right thing and get these people some car seats,” said Hawkins. The officers put their own money together and while Gower talked to the driver, Hawkins drove to Wal-Mart.
“I recognized some of the management staff and told them immediately what I wanted to do. She walked back with me and helped me. We chose the age appropriate car seats and color coded them,” said Hawkins. Hawkins said the manager also gave him a small discount, bringing his total to about $145.
He went back to meet the driver with three pink car seats for the man’s daughters who are 1, 3 and 4-years old. Then Hawkins and Gower, fathers themselves, helped put them in the truck.
The man they helped did not want to speak with KVUE on camera, but released the following statement: “It was nothing short of a miracle. It was something that was really needed. The officers have been a blessing.”
When the other Cedar Park officers on the same shift as Gower and Hawkins heard what was going on, they also chipped in to help pay for the car seats. Giving a gift, instead of a ticket; proving the power of the badge is made stronger by the hearts who wear them.
DCG