This year, it’s not only Santa who is spreading holiday cheer.
Police officers in Lowell, Michigan, have been pulling drivers over not to give them tickets, but to deliver presents for their families ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The City of Lowell posted a video on YouTube this week that shows officers pulling drivers over and surprising them with wrapped presents that were on their families’ Christmas lists.
“Most of the contact that police officers have with the general public is on a traffic stop and you can find out a lot about that person in that 10- to 15-minute window, whether they’re having a good day, a bad day, or a horrible day,” narrates Lowell Police Chief Steve Bukala at the beginning of the video.
“Then we got this idea: What if we could change that person’s day in real time?” he continues. “What if we could change that person’s day right now?”
In the video, police officers pull over drivers for actual traffic violations and engage them in conversation about their Christmas lists. Once the officers discover something that hasn’t been checked off the lists, they notify their helpers — shall we call them “elves”? — who quickly purchase the gifts and deliver them to the drivers.
The reactions from gift recipients are priceless and heartwarming.
“Oh my god, can I hug you?” exclaims one woman.
“This just turned my bad day into a good one,” says another.
“That sure is nice of you,” a male driver tells an officer. “I’ve been pulled over by police officers before and they’ve always been good to people, but never this good.”
Get in the holiday spirit by watching the video below.
