Texas cop wraps $100 bill in traffic ticket

(CBS) PLANO, Texas - When 25-year-old Hayden Carlo was pulled over for an expired registration sticker by a Plano police officer, he told him without hesitation - he had no excuse.

"I said there's no explanation for why I haven't done it, except I don't have the money....it was either feed my kids or get my registration done."

The cop gave Carlo a ticket...and something else.

"I opened it up and there's a $100 bill. I broke down in my car what else could I do?," Carlo told CBS DFW.

The officer never told anyone about the $100 gift. But Carlo's grandfather, Billy McIntire, was so moved by the kind gesture he wrote a letter to the department.

"I get emotional when we talk about this type of thing," McIntire says. "You just don't find that many officers who would do this type of thing."

CBS DFW reports that while other police officers around the country have recently been recognized for similar acts of kindness, this Plano cop wants to remain anonymous. His co-workers plan to honor him anyway.

"As he told me, this man needed it more than him, and it was the right thing to do," says fellow officer and department spokesperson David Tilley.

With the $100 gift, Carlo was able to update the registrations on his car and his wife's car, too.

"He helped me out when I needed it and I appreciate that. I'll never forget that man," Carlo says. "It definitely restored my faith in God."

Sunday, December 16, 2012