Crime & Safety
Hero Cops Buy Car Seat for Family They Pulled Over
When two Michigan police officers received a call about parents who hadn't properly restrained their child in a car seat, the law was clear.
Officers Jason Pavlige and James Hodges are being hailed as heroes for what they did to help out the parents of a 10-month-old child. (Screenshot via WZZM-TV)
Sometimes, cops do the darndest things.
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And one of those things almost slipped by without notice until an employee of a Michigan Walmart store decided the world should know what Fruitport Township Officers Jason Pavlige and James Hodges did.
When the two officers answered a dispatch call about a woman holding a 10-month-old baby in her arms in a car’s passenger seat, instead of a car seat, the law was clear that a citation was in order.
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But Pavlige and Hodges of Fruitport Township blurred the lines anyway.
And they’re being hailed as heroes because of it.
Hodges, 26, told ABC News that after visiting with the child’s parents, he and Hodges decided to buy a car seat instead of issue them a ticket for violating Michigan’s child restraint law.
The parents, who were not named, said they couldn’t afford the car seat. They were new to Michigan, did not have family in the area, and had no co-workers they could turn to for help. Still, it was clear the officers couldn’t just let them drive on, they said.
The two officers huddled and discussed what to do next, then “made the decision to go get them a car seat so we’d know the kid was safe and that this issue wouldn’t come up again,” Hodges said.
Pavlige and Hodges pooled their money. Pavlige stayed behind with the family while his partner went shopping at a local Walmart store and bought a top-of-the-line car seat he told WZZM-TV he would choose for his own children.
The officers installed the car seat, gave the child’s parents a lesson on how to properly use it, and then went on to their next call with little fanfare.
“The father was, I think, almost in shock,” said Hodges, who declined to say how much the car seat cost. “They didn’t say much but were just very appreciative.”
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Hodges said their act of generosity was no big deal.
“We made the decision that was what we needed to do to solve the issue,” Hodges said. “When we left we went onto the next call.”
That was last February.
The officers didn’t publicize their good deed, so the Walmart employee stepped in to make sure they were recognized.
“It was only brought to our attention by a clerk at Walmart who saw it and thought they should be recognized,” Fruitport Township Police Lt. Bruce Morningstar told ABC News. “They were doing it on their own without any recognition.”
On Facebook, Fruitport Township residents are appreciative of officers who show discretion.
“Wow, you guys rock,” Lynette Wadaga Bloomberg, one of several people handing out “atta boys,” commented. “Thank you for all you do, and for going above and beyond. You represent Fruitport well.”
Their sudden celebrity doesn’t seem to have fazed the officers.
“This is why you become a police officer or firefighter or paramedic,” Pavlige told WZZM-TV. “You are here to help people; whether it’s buying them a car seat or just by talking to them, we are here to help.”
Hodges said police officers “try to help everybody the best way possible for every occasion”
“Obviously we can’t buy everyone a car seat,” Pavlige added. “But this one time, I think we were called to this situation because we were meant to be there.”
It’s not the first time Michigan police officers have helped people going through tough times. Last fall, an officer in the western part of the state purchased a car seat for a single mother.
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