Thanks to a thoughtful officer

Often we hear (and repeat) only the negative on our area police officers, so I would like to give a positive word to one of our officers.

I am sorry I didn’t get Officer Gary’s last name, but it is a small town, so hopefully he knows who I am speaking of.

A young person coming to visit came in upset because her friend was in the driveway speaking with the policeman who had pulled her over. He had stopped her for a California stop. He hadn’t seen her when she stopped ahead of the sign. She felt it was undeserved because she had stopped ahead of the stop sign but then rolled through at the sign without stopping.

Upon checking, she had no license or proof of insurance with her and I think she was without registration. Even though she had a bit of a “tude” Officer Gary was patient, kind and informative. He did not issue her a ticket, just a warning.

Someone asked me how much my being there helped her out. I told them truthfully it had nothing to do with his decision. The officer told her he would rather help her with learning the rules as versus giving her a ticket. I have to say I think that was much more memorable for her. I know it was for me.

So, Officer Gary, thank you for your thoughtful reaction to her action.

Connie Hakola