ICYMI: Singing Motorist Dodges Ticket

ORLANDO, FL - Many people try to talk their way out of traffic tickets, but T.J. Bristol prefers to sing.

That tactic worked like a charm Sunday when the Orlando man was pulled over by two Orange County deputies for not wearing a seat belt. When the two deputies asked why he was dressed up in a suit and tie, Bristol told them he was a gospel singer. The deputies put Bristol to the test.

He passed with flying colors.

Rather than write that ticket, Cpl. Ricks and Deputy Hoagland “got a sincere promise to buckle up and a serenade,” the sheriff’s office explained on its Facebook page.

The tune that did the trick for Bristol? Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful,” of course.

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Bristol recorded the encounter on his cellphone and later posted a video of himself serenading the deputies on Facebook. The sheriff’s office happily shared that video in its own post about the uplifting encounter.

“God just got me out of this big ticket,” Bristol wrote. “Maybe you should try singing to your police officers. It worked for me. Always remember click it or ticket.”

The encounter with Bristol was especially touching to Ricks, the sheriff’s office noted. Tuesday was the five-year anniversary of her husband’s line-of-duty death. Deputy First Class Brandon Coates was shot and killed during a Dec. 8, 2010, traffic stop. Coates’ killer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office reported.

Following Sunday’s musical traffic stop, Ricks asked the sheriff’s office to pass along this message: “His wife is out there every day, with a smile and still ‘making a difference’ despite everything going on.”

As for Bristol, he had these final words for others behind the wheel, “Buckle up y’all!”

Image via Shutterstock