Police in the Village of Doylestown, Ohio, have been pulling drivers over this week, not to issue citations, but to hand out hundred dollar bills and wish drivers a Merry Christmas.
An anonymous donor who lives in Doylestown (the place I am blessed to call home) gave the department $1000 after hearing a report about a “Secret Santa” using police officers to hand out cash to drivers in Kansas City.
“The offer was that they’d give us $1,000 dollars to make 10 traffic stops,” said Doylestown Police Chief Brian Dressler, “which we thought was a great idea.”
The patrolman’s association collected another $400, so the department was able to hand out fourteen hundred dollar bills to unsuspecting drivers passing through the village.
Some of the encounters were caught on police dash cams and body cameras.
Jodi Utter was expecting to get a ticket when police pulled her over.
“I was just so excited and I’m so thankful to live in this town,” Utter said.
One woman was so excited that she jumped out of her vehicle and hugged the officer.
“Some hugs were given out today and my guys aren’t used to people getting out of the car and hugging them,” said Chief Dressler. “Normally, we don’t recommend that, but today we’re just enjoying every aspect of it.”
The officers, who wore black mourning bands on their badges, said the giveaway was a good way to have positive interactions with the community.
“As I was reaching for one of the $100 dollar bills I looked down and I caught the mourning band,” said Chief Dressler. “You know, I caught the black. That’s when I really felt the power of what — you know, we’d be doing this anyway but it reminded me of the importance of what we’re doing today is.”
Sgt. Kevin Milburn, who participated in the giveaway said, “In light of everything that’s going on in the nation regarding law enforcement, it’s definitely put a positive spin to law enforcement and the interactions that we can have with the community.”
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