Marie Davis gives Trooper D.C. Graham, of the West Virginia State Police, a hug after receiving the generous gift during her ‘Santa Stop’. Davis said she will use the money to purchase Christmas dinner for her family.
PRINCETON, W.Va. — Troopers with the West Virginia State Police Princeton Detachment handed out $100 bills instead of tickets Monday thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.
“A gentleman came in earlier today and he asked if I had heard about the Secret Santa stuff that’s been going on across the nation. He said basically, he’d seen where some traffic stops had been occurring with law enforcement officers and they’d been giving away money from a Secret Santa,” First Sergeant M.R. Crowder, with the West Virginia State Police Princeton Detachment, said.
The anonymous donor gave a $1,000 for the Secret Santa project.
“He said he wasn’t rich, but he did have a little bit of money that he would like to give back into the community,” Crowder said.
“It’s actually a privilege today to give out $100 bills because when people deal with law enforcement, it’s not always happy smiles, it’s usually in a negative way. So it’s good to be able to provide some joy instead of negativity to these people,” Trooper D.C. Graham, also of the West Virginia State Police Princeton Detachment, said.
The generosity touched the heart of Crowder.
“It’s excellent. I tell ya, I about got emotional on him when he was standing here. When he gave it to me. I told him it’s probably one of the kindest things I’ve seen in my 20 years in being in law enforcement,” Crowder said.
The Secret Santa project surprised all of the recipients who were pulled over…