On October 17, Officer Justin Gower of the Cedar Park Police Department pulled over a truck for having a malfunctioning light and an expired registration. When he looked in the back he saw three children aged 1, 3, and 4-years old sitting without car seats.
Apparently, the man was known to other officers. He quickly called Officer Cale Hawkins who informed him the family had been living in a hotel and most of their money went to that expense. At that point he was faced with a decision on whether to ticket the man or do something to help.
"Giving him three tickets, it wasn't going to do any good," said Gower. "Those kids were still going to have to be driven somewhere, somehow with no car seats."
"We just kind of stepped off to the side and said we need to kind of do the right thing and get these people some car seats," said Hawkins.
While Gower spoke to the driver, Officer Hawkins went to the local Walmart.
"I recognized some of the management staff and told them immediately what I wanted to do. She walked back with me and helped me. We chose the age appropriate car seats and color coded them," said Hawkins.
Many other officers in the department chipped in to buy the car seats, which totaled $145. Hawkins then brought three brand new, pink car seats and helped the man install them in his car.
The man released the following statement, "It was nothing short of a miracle. It was something that was really needed. The officers have been a blessing."
(h/t WOWKTV.com)