Colleen Annek recently wrote an article on The San Francisco Globe website. She reports that despite the bad press generated by a series of unfortunate incidents involving police officers and members of the public recently, some positive interactions occur also. Her article addresses one of these cases, a photo opportunity that occurred in Halifax, Canada.
Three year old Declan Tramley enjoys exploring the area near the Halifax ferry terminal with his parents. Riding on a bright red toy motorcycle, a helmet strapped securely over his head, the blond-haired toddler sometimes travels through a busy section of Halifax where many bikers congregate.
When Declan parked his toy bike in a “no parking” zone there recently, his father thought it would be a good idea to snap a photo of young Declan receiving a fake parking ticket from a member of the Halifax Police Department. Halifax Regional Police Officer Shawn Currie played along with the joke. He wrote out a phony parking ticket which he handed to the startled toddler. Declan’s father sent the photograph to the Halifax Police Department, and the snapshot eventually went viral.
At first, the ticket reportedly upset Declan. However, the child subsequently became quite pleased that he had been given a ticket. Officer Currie noted: “It’s nice to show the different sides of police, we’re not always making arrests and hauling people away.”