Instead of Tickets, Michigan Driver Got a Good Cop Story

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WESTLAND, MI – A traffic stop could have turned out badly for LaVonte Dell.

He was stopped Monday after Westland Police Officer Joshua Scaglione noticed the tint on the windows of his vehicle exceeded the limits allowed by Michigan law.

And on top of that, his 3-year-old daughter wasn’t in a car set.

Scaglione wanted to know why.

Money, the problem was money, Dell replied, according to a post on his Facebook page that has been shared on the Westland Police Community Partnership site.

He fell on hard times with wage garnishments, the other car seat was “done for” and he couldn’t scrape together the money for a car seat, and he doesn’t like asking people for help, Dell wrote in his post.

He said he is "in shock” by what happened next.

“Do you know this white police officer told to follow him to Walmart on Ford Road,” wrote Dell, who is black, “and he purchased my daughter a car seat with his own money.

“If you would have seen us in Walmart (you) would have thought we were best friends,” the post continued. “It was like night and day.”

The encounter happened during a time of heightened racial tension between police officers and minorities across the country. Dell used his Facebook post to remind his friends to “never judge a book by its cover” and that there are “some good guys left.”

He told Scaglione he had never met a police officer like him.

According to Dell, the officer responded: “I’m just doing my job. What good would giving (you) a ticket do besides putting (you) farther in the hole, making it harder for you to come up?”

Dell was so taken aback by the magnanimous gesture that he didn’t get Scaglione’s name. He spent the day trying to track him down. He finally learned his identity through the Westland Police Department, which was as surprised by Scaglione’s gesture as Dell was.

“It was difficult to identify the officer responsible as he had not told anyone about what had happened,” the Westland Police Community Partnership posted on its Facebook page. “It is clear that his sole purpose was to assist the driver, not to receive recognition.

“The Westland Police Department would like to express how proud we are of the officer responsible, Officer Joshua Scaglione.

“We would also like to thank the driver, LaVonte Dell, for coming forward and sharing this experience with us. In a world filled with negative stories, the fact that you shared yours has had an unbelievably positive impact on all of us. Thank you.”

The post has received more than 3,600 likes, has been shared 1,370 times and has generated about 120 comments.

Image credit: LaVonte Dell Facebook picture used with permission