West Virginia Police Gives Holiday Reprieve ‘Tickets’ to Traffic Violators

• Drivers in Charleston, West Virginia received a holiday reprieve this season.
• The South Charleston Police Department handed out gift cards instead of tickets to traffic violators.
• Officers said that violators are still pulled over to be informed of their violation, but are given gift cards instead of tickets.

It can be alarming to hear the siren of a police car, especially when it’s behind you. But this holiday season, the drivers in Charleston, West Virginia received a holiday reprieve: the South Charleston Police Department handed out gift cards instead of tickets to traffic violators.

Jeanna McCallister Lilly wrote of her experience on Facebook: “BIG shout out to SCPD. I ran a red light (accidentally of course) and was, as expected, pulled over. The officer took my ID and car info and when he came back, he surprised me by NOT giving me a ticket, but a gift card for Chik-Fil-A. How wonderful is that??”

The local Chik-Fil-A had informed the officers of the local Fraternal Order of Police lodge about the holiday gift cards. So the South Charleston Police Department decided to purchase $500 worth of cards to hand out.

So traffic violators were still pulled over so that officers can explain what they did wrong, but instead of giving the drivers tickets, the officers surprised them with $10 gift cards, Officer Robert Yeager told WCHS News.

People on social media gave mixed reactions about this, since many felt wary about getting pulled over by the police. Still, others pointed out that the police department had good intentions.

Patrol Officer Justin Morris told WCHS, “Usually, people aren’t too happy when you pull them over, but to put a smile on someone’s face like that, it’s a good feeling.”

You can watch the full news video from WCHS here.

Source: Good News Network