Dozens stopped by Miami Gardens police, get turkeys instead of tickets
MIAMI - The City of Miami Gardens Police Department held a special traffic enforcement. Dozens of drivers were pulled over but were spared a ticket.
It's happened every year for the last 6 years. They call it turkeys instead of tickets.
Delma Noel-Pratt is the Miami Gardens Police Chief. She says, "Basically it's a way of educating the community, once we stop them we bless them with a turkey."
Walmart provides the turkeys about 150 to 200 of them. Jimmy Magoufit is the Walmart Store Manager. "With everything that's going on within the world, with inflation and everything else like that it's important for us to build that relationship with our community."
The hope is to give people a break and in the process teach officers about people.
Chief Pratt says, "We get so many different reactions put really what warms our heart is the fact that a lot of people are down and now they're going through so many different things so many different issues going on across the country and therefore we are able to present a turkey to them they're just so elated so Happy, and they just start crying at the other side to it is the fact that our officers are civilian personnel, get to see how the community is and they get to also feel that emotion."
The officers spread out all over the city. At a checkpoint on 207th Street around NW 20th Avenue, giving out the turkeys wasn't hard.
The first person stopped was Anthony Mulet, who was working in the area. He says, "I always have my seat belt on."
Ismael Davis was also stopped saying, "Awe man, you know what, sometimes you have it on, sometimes you don't know what I'm saying. You should definitely have it on."
Taylor Green was riding with her sister. Neither were wearing their seat belt. All Taylor could say after being stopped was, "We got got."
In about five minutes three different cars all for the same exact reason. With each stop, Chief Pratt laid down the law telling each driver, "It's important that you wear your seat belt at all times when you're moving a vehicle."
But for one driver. He not only received a gift, he gave one. Ismael Davis politely gave the turkey back saying, "I don't need it. I would like to give it to somebody less fortunate so if I could donate it back. I'd like to do that."