Latrobe police officers give gift cards instead of tickets

LATROBE, Pa. — This isn’t a totally new program for Latrobe police, but it’s one that’s gaining more support.

When drivers like Michael Robl saw the lights in the rearview mirror, he thought he was getting a ticket.

“I thought I was. It wasn’t the first time I’ve been pulled over either. So, I was like, ‘oh here we go again,’” Robl said.

But instead, he drove away with a present from the police.

“I got a gift card, that’s pretty cool. I might give that to my mom,” Robl said.

“A lot of times it’s more just shock, cause like I said, they don’t expect police officers to come back and say I’m not going to give you a citation, but also here’s a gift card,” Patrolman Sean Grosso said.

Latrobe Police Department spent the days leading up to Christmas pulling people over for minor traffic violations, but the ticket they appeared to write, turned into a gift card.

“He comes back here and said we just want to give you $100, we’re just giving you a warning. I was like you ‘gotta be kidding me.’ It’s like God works in mysterious ways,” Debbie Uebele said.

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Latrobe police started handing out this form of Christmas cheer a few years ago, but as more people caught onto it, the gifts just kept coming.

“As each year went on, and people got word that we were trying to do this with the community, people started to donate more gift cards so we could actually give back,” Grosso said.

“I think that’s wonderful they can do something like that and they’re able to help so many people in the community that would really need this,” Uebele said.

While it’s bringing joy to drivers, it’s lighting up the Christmas spirit for those behind the badge.

“We’ve had people cry, we’ve had people shake our hands, laugh, and still don’t believe it’s true when we’re walking away from the car. I just love and enjoy doing it,” Grosso said.

The police department has contributed gift cards to hand out themselves, but U-Haul also donated 20 $100 gift cards to help the cause this year.