Police Officer Buys Car Seats Instead of Writing Ticket After Pulling Over Mom of 3
A Wisconsin police officer is being praised for his kindness after he pulled over a mom of two and bought her car seats instead of ticketing her for not having them installed, according to WITI.
Milwaukee Police Department officer Kevin Zimmermann was on patrol Saturday when he came across mom Andrella Jackson, who was driving a car with an invalid registration.
“There was three kids in the back, two of them were very young,” Zimmermann told the news station. “Didn’t notice any car seats or any restraints. Clearly, they weren’t wearing seat belts because they’re jumping around back there waving at me.”
Jackson explained that she had just purchased the car from an auction and hadn’t had time to register it yet. She also couldn’t afford car seats, she told the officer.
“With bills coming up and winter coming up,” Jackson told WITI, “I got to get coats and boots and shoes and stuff, so it was kind of hard for me.”
Zimmermann, who has children himself, felt compassion for Jackson’s situation.
“I’m a father myself, I have three kids,” he said, according to WTMJ. “I thought of my kids jumping around. What if a car hit them and they flew and got seriously hurt, if not killed?”
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After hearing her story, Zimmermann decided not only to let her off without a ticket, but to buy her car seats with his own money.
The generous officer then went to a local Walmart and spent $75 on seats for the two youngest children, then returned to Jackson to properly install them in her vehicle.
“I got these for you and your kids so your kids can be safe and you don’t have to worry about at least this part of the situation you’re in,” Zimmermann said he told Jackson, according to WTMJ. “She kept saying thank you and the kids kept saying thank you.”
Safe Kids Worldwide reports that properly secured car seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent, and stresses the importance of buying the right car seat to match your child’s size and age. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also recommends that parents change their safety seats following a moderate or severe crash.
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WTMJ reported that the city has given more than 120 citations just this year for children not being properly restrained in a vehicle.
The Milwaukee Police Department — which did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment — thanked Zimmerman for going “beyond your call of duty” in a post on social media.
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“Andrella JACKSON was recently pulled over by MPD District 5 Officer Zimmerman, and received much more than a traffic citation,” their post reads. “The officer observed that the children in the car were not properly restrained and took it upon himself to purchase two car seats for her. Thank you Officer Zimmerman for going the extra mile and going above and beyond your call of duty.”
But Zimmermann said he didn’t want any praise for his kind deed — he simply wanted the children to be safe.
“I didn’t do this to be praised or ‘atta boy’ or anything like that,” he said, according to WKYT. “I did it because I’m a parent and I want nothing to happen to these kids.”
