Advertisement

Ohio police ‘ticket’ kids with coupons for ice cream

A carton of ice cream with chocolate sauce is shown cut in half as part of Beth Galton's conceptual photo series Cut Food.
Photo by Beth Galton, food styling by Charlotte Omnes.

This summer, children in Ohio are hoping the police will ticket them.

As part of the Brimfield Police Department's "Safe Summer" program, cops are doling out special tickets to kids caught wearing helmets: each ticket can be exchanged for a free ice-cream cone at a local drive-in.

"Effective next week, my officers will have a quota for tickets....at least one per shift," wrote Police Chief David Oliver on the police department's Facebook page last week, adding that he is "strongly encouraging my officers to write as many as they can, every shift, every day."

"If a child 12 or under is observed wearing his or her helmet while biking...the child will be stopped and issued a ticket...for a free ice cream cone from Frank's Drive-in, located on SR43."

"This is the kind of ticket writing I REALLY enjoy," he concluded.

"We traffic stop them and give them a ticket," patrol officer Russ Diehl told Fox8. "I absolutely love it."

Frank's Drive-In chimed in on Facebook: "Gladly accepting any ticket the Chief or his officers write. I feel these tickets should also be written for any act of kindness or bravery that your officers may witness. Thanks Chief. Glad we could be part of 'Operation Safe Summer.'"

Photos of happy kids proudly showing off their citations have since been posted to Facebook.

According to Fox8, Operation Safe Summer has been an annual Brimfield tradition for years.

"I guess it just gives the children a good incentive, maybe, to do something good," Frank's Drive-In owner Joe Follen said, "not only to wear their bicycle helmet, but also to do good acts of kindness."