“It was the easiest 50 bucks I ever spent”

[babylonsister]

Instead of Issuing a Ticket, Michigan Cop Buys Car Seat for Family
by Good News Network - October 7, 2014


Lexi DeLorenzo could have been fined for letting her five-year-old ride in a car without a car seat. Her car had been repossessed with the booster seat still inside, after the family fell on hard times and couldn’t pay their bills.

Instead of giving her a ticket, Emmett Township Public Safety Officer Ben Hall led her to a nearby Walmart in Battle Creek, Michigan and bought the family a car seat to keep her safe.

“It was the easiest 50 bucks I ever spent,” said the kind-hearted officer.

”This officer has changed my life, not just because he purchased a car seat for my 5 year old, but because he has opened my eyes and given me hope,” the young mom wrote on the Facebook page of the Emmett Township Department of Public Safety, when they posted photos of the good deed.

“As soon as I can afford it, I will be paying forward,” she added.

Officer Hall said he was not looking to be paid back. “It’s a pay-it-forward situation completely,” he told a WXMI-17 news reporter.

(WATCH the video below or READ the story from WXMI-17 @ link:

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/instead-issuing-ticket-michigan-cop-buys-car-seat-family/

[logosoco]

1. I guess this story is supposed to make me feel all good and mushy about the police,

but the first thing I think of is, if communities weren't having to pay for the crimes the police commit against civilians,(not to mention the taxpayer money used to arrest and jail drug users), maybe they would have enough money to make sure all the kids in the community had things like car seats.

[Kablooie]

21. No not the police. Just a policeman.

And individual can be a good person even though he is a policeman.

This has nothing to do with police in general.

[notadmblnd]

2. Call me cynical but it looks like a PR stunt to me.

[840high]

3. Cynical. I believe

this story.

[babylonsister]

5. You can't possibly think every cop out there is the same.

I just bet there are some very good, kind ones. You never read their stories-not flashy enough and can't compare to the disgusting cops and their actions-but this could be one.

[notadmblnd]

11. No, I don't. However, I did go to the link and look at the pictures

he posed for not one, but 3. Shaking the woman's hand. Getting money out of his wallet and all 3 posing with the item. If it was just a good deed, why the need for so many pictures? Did he call the "GoodNewsNetwork" or did they just happen to be there? I can understand one pic, but 3?

[babylonsister]

19. The dept. he works for took the pix:

maybe because they thought it was a good deed, too.

I refuse to go through life thinking the worst of people. Can't do it!

[shireen]

15. totally agree

I've had some interactions with police officers. Got pulled over for speeding, driving erratically (drowsy behind the wheel), when i had to call 911 due to a medical emergency. In every instance, they were polite and kind to me, even the ones who pulled me over for speeding. They were all white. I have dark skin.

There are bad cops out there, I believe the accounts I've read here by those who have suffered. I'm horrified by police brutality cases.

But there are some good ones too. I've met them.

[madokie]

4. Thanks for this

its so nice to read the good stories. this is how people are supposed to be, kind hearted toward their fellow persons whether they be a cop or a beggar on the street. Its together how we all win

[babylonsister]

9. Yep, you said a

mouthful!

[mahannah]

6. In my life (66) I've had run-ins with the guys in shiny shoes...

most have been "OK". But then, I'm "white".

[PatrickforO]

7. Easy to be cynical given the constant reports of police brutality, but

in this case, I prefer to believe the best. Ben Hall is probably a pretty good guy, and maybe he did this because of that, or maybe because he feels bad about all the egregious things police have been video taped doing. Either way, it was a nice thing to do that genuinely helped a sister in need.

Capitalism sucks, because companies position themselves to protect profit at all costs, and to eke out the uttermost farthing from their customers through confusing marketing and predatory practices. But if we all did something kind like this every day (and it needn't cost anything) the world would be a better place.

Sometimes I feel bitter about the sad state of our society, the politicians who are in the pockets of corporate capitalists, and the corporate capitalists who want just a little more at the expense of the very earth upon which we live.

But I realize that I must not be bitter at things I cannot control; rather, I'd be better off just trying to make my little corner of the world a better place to live.

Thanks to Ben, and blessings to Lexi and family.

[pangaia]

8. $50 for a car seat?

I wouldn't put any child of mine in a $50 car seat, but props for his kindness.

[sharp_stick]

18. It was a booster style

the girl was seven, much cheaper than the full seats.

[TeamPooka]

10. Good thing news photographers just happend to be at the store. nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. wonderful story

[CaptainTruth]

13. My first thought was "I'll bet she's white" ... & sure enough.

It does look too much like a PR stunt to me. I hope it wasn't, & I hope that officer would do the same for a black mother ... but I have no faith that he would.

[gollygee]

17. That's the thing about white privilege

White people tend to give other white people the benefit of the doubt and hold a hand of help out to them, where they aren't usually as easy going with people of color. And these are very often good people who just aren't aware, not "racists" in the traditional sense.

But yeah knowing that area and the racial tension that exists there, I thought the same thing. African Americans (certainly in the Battle Creek area) are not generally given the benefit of the doubt.

[Major Hogwash]

14. Nice story.

No doubt about it, some people will pay-it-forward, while others won't.

[BlueJazz]

16. I take it at face value. I need to.

[babylonsister]

22. Update:

Good News Network
3 hrs · Edited ·


UPDATE on Officer Ben Hall: I just spoke with the Emmett Township Public Safety Department about Officer Hall, who bought a car seat for a poor mom and her daughter. I thought you would enjoy the update:

"The only the reason the photo was put on Facebook was the little girl wanted to get a photo of the officer and her new car seat," said Lt. Tony Geigle. "The only one of them with a camera at Walmart was the 'loss prevention officer' on duty. She snapped a few photos, emailed them to the family and sent them to the Department... The little girl was really happy,"

One of the officers at headquarters told Geigle, 'I just got this picture from Amanda at Walmart.'

"When other officers in the department heard about it they were pulling out their wallets to help pitch in and reimburse him. But, Hall refused any contributions telling them, 'I wanted to do it, it made me feel good.'"

"It has been pretty overwhelming for him," said Geigle, referring to all the media attention. "For the most part, it has been very positive."

See the Full story here: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/instead-issuing-ticket-michigan-cop-buys-car-seat-family/

The Emmett Township runs all their police, fire and EMTs out of a single office with everyone training together. "We are very community oriented and created our Facebook page to provide info to our public, to let people see what we are doing. We even post all our calls."