Drivers in Michigan pulled over by a policeman for what they assumed might be minor traffic infraction didn't get tickets, they got Christmas presents instead. And it was all caught on camera.
Officer Scot VanSolkema was the point man behind the gift giving in the town of Lowell.
Outfitted with a hidden microphone camera, he asked the drivers he pulled over what they hoped to get for the holidays. Listening in, VanSolkema's police colleagues would rush to local stores to try to pick up the item mentioned, then drive it to where VanSolkema and the driver where chatting.
Surprised drivers found themselves going on their way with an X-Box, a high-definition TV and other gifts, with the gift giving filmed and posted on YouTube where they quickly went viral.
"Police officers do a lot more than write tickets and take bad guys to jail," VanSolkema said. "We're people, like everyone else."
When one of the drivers asked VanSolkema how the police managed to accomplish the seemingly instant gift-wish fulfillment, he replied, "Well, we've got radios and sleighs and magic elves."
The program was a collaboration between the Lowell Police Department, videographer Rob Bliss and faith-based cable network UP TV.
UP TV contacted the police department in October with the idea as part of the network's Uplift Someone Christmas initiative.
The Uplift campaign encourages people to deliver acts of kindness, says Lori Hall, UP's vice president of consumer marketing.
"We wanted to do something that basically encouraged people to uplift someone, no matter how big or small," she says.
UP contacted videographer Bliss, who got together with Lowell Police Chief Steve Bukala to figure out the logistics of the event.
"The sky was the limit [for presents]," Lauren said. "And I don't think there was anybody who was really greedy, and said, 'I want this, this, this and this.' Of course, they didn't know what was going on."
UP TV, which paid for the gifts, said between $7,000 and $10,000 of merchandise was given away over the two-day video shoot.
As part of the project, VanSolkema pulled drivers over for minor infractions such as having too dark a tint on their windows, but none of the drivers stopped were given citations.
They normally don't "encourage minor traffic violations," Lowell police said, but explained they though it was important for police to "take the time to show their citizens just how much they care."
