You ask for their driver’s license, registration, proof of insurance and they provide it. Then you either issue a warning or a speeding ticket, and that decision often hinges on the seriousness of the infraction. And every once in a while, you discover the driver had a warrant out for his arrest and you’re forced to take him into custody.
But what about using the stop for the traffic offense to give the driver worldly advice?
That’s exactly what an Alabama state trooper did to a young female driver.
Trooper J.T. Brown pulled over 20-year-old Abbie Rutledge back in 2022. Rutledge pleaded with Brown to forgive her and told him that she could not afford a ticket because she was “broke and in a dead-end job.”
Brown considered her statement for a brief moment and replied with a unique response.
“And I told her, I said, ‘Well, how about we talk about it then,'” Brown told local media.
Rutledge graciously accepted.
After an approximately 15-minute conversation, Brown concluded that Rutledge had the attributes and assets to make a great nurse and told her so.
Brown issued her an official warning for speeding, but on the citation he wrote, “Promise me you’ll go to scrub or nursing school, and slow down, and I won’t give you a ticket.”
He then went on his way and never looked back – until recently.
Unbeknownst to him, Rutledge took his advice to heart and immediately went at it.
“As soon as he left, and as soon as I got to where I was going, I started pushing myself toward that career. And now I’m here,” Rutledge told local media.
Rutledge then enrolled in a two-year program for surgical technology at her local community college in Jasper, Alabama. She successfully completed the program and has recently found employment as a surgical technician at the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital.
She credits Brown, who was right about the attributes he assessed during the original traffic stop two years ago. She not only loves her new job, but she went as far as to locate Brown and invite him to the graduation ceremony. He accepted.
“I wanted him to see the impression he made on me,” Rutledge said. “Five minutes talking to anybody, even if you don’t know them, can make the largest impact of their life, ever…You never know when it could happen.”
Trooper Brown could have easily and strictly followed policy and procedure and simply issued her a warning. But he followed his instinct and went the extra mile to “have an informal conversation.”
Although he never expected that she would follow his advice to a tee, he is very glad she did.
“She made my entire career worth it,” Brown said.
Next time you find yourself in a routine police/public interaction, consider stepping out of your normal role and focusing more on a human element. Break down the layers between you as a police officer and the traffic violator as a person. It might just be the exact thing a civilian needs to change their life around – as Abbie Rutledge has.
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Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran and has over 25 years of combined LEO/military service. He owns and operates the LEO apparel and accessory company www.BuyHeroStuff.com
