Michael Patterson
Michael Patterson is a state trooper. He loved his job. Throughout his career, he has performed thousands of traffic stops. When he sees a driver doing something that they shouldn’t on the road, he pulls over the vehicle, and in most cases, he writes a ticket. Most of the tickets that he writes are for speeding, but there was one day that he pulled over a vehicle for the tint on the windows.
Tinted Windows
Every state has laws regarding the level of tint that a vehicle can have on their windows. While Michael was patrolling the Kingwood Township Highway on a summer day in June, he noticed a white BMW in the lane next to him. It wasn’t the way the driver was driving or their speed that caught Micheal’s attention; the was the tint on the windows. The driver’s tint was well beyond the legal limit. Michael wondered how the driver was even able to see out of the dark windows. Michael had to pull the car over to prevent the driver or someone else on the road from being injured if the tint impaired the driver’s ability to see.
Pulling the Car Over
When Michael saw the dark tint on the car, he pulled back so that he could get behind the vehicle. He turned on his lights and siren to pull the car over. Michael took pride in the type of police officer he was. He was often friendly with the people he pulled over, even though they were breaking the law. He could have been like other officers and thrown his weight around, but he chose not to. When he pulled the car over, the driver seemed a bit annoyed. He knew that they weren’t speeding, and when Micheal informed him that he was being pulled over because of his tint, he felt a bit silly.
The Driver
The driver should have known better than to have tint so dark because he was a police officer himself. He was a police officer for 30 years before he retired. He loved his job, and being a police officer was something that made him proud. Being pulled over for illegal tint wasn’t the former officer’s finest moment.
He Didn’t Put Up a Fight
When the former officer was told that his tint was too dark, he didn’t put up much of a fight. After being informed that his tint was too dark, he understood that it needed to be fixed. Rather than getting angry, he decided to speak to the person who put the tint on the windows in the first place.
A Bond
When Michael found out that the driver was a former officer, the two men started talking about the job. In just a few minutes, the two men bonded, and the interaction was caught on Michael’s body cam. It was also captured on the camera on the front of Michael’s car. Micheal, and the driver, Matthew Bailey, were learning that they had a lot in common.
Matthew Bailey
While talking, Michael learned that Matthew worked as a police officer in another city, not too far away. The two men began sharing stories of life on the job. They were talking about the crazy things that they had seen on the job. When Matthew told Micheal where he worked, Michael was surprised. It turned out that Matthew was a police officer in the city where Micheal grew up, and where his mother still resided, Piscataway.
30-Years Ago
Matthew asked Michael when he was born, and Michael told him that he was born in 1991. When Matthew heard this, he wanted to get more information. He remembered an incident that took place close to 30 years earlier, and he had a feeling that Michael had something to do with it. When Micheal told Matthew that he was born on October 5, 1991, Matthew asked what street he grew up on. Micheal was wondering what all the questions were about. Michael told Matthew that he grew up on Poe Place, and Matthew was about to shock the officer.
The Story
At that time, Matthew was still a rookie, with only four years with a badge under his belt. He received a call to Poe Place while on patrol. He was told that a young woman named Karen was in labor, and she might not be able to wait for the ambulance. When Matthew arrived, he knew that he had to deliver the woman’s baby. Most officers go their whole career without delivering a baby, and Matthew had to do this after just four years on the job. The baby that Matthew delivered that day was Micheal. Growing up, Michael heard the stories about how a police officer delivered him, and it made him proud. It was part of the reason that he wanted to become a police officer himself.
A Huge Coincidence
Matthew had no idea who the officer was that delivered him, and he couldn’t believe that he had just pulled him over. After finding out that Matthew is the man who brought him into the world, Michael didn’t have the heart to give him a ticket. He trusted that Matthew would handle the tint on his own, and he was thrilled to meet the officer who helped deliver him finally. The cop pulls over a car, but when the driver rolls down his window, his life changes forever.
