MASON, Mich — Getting pulled over by police in Ingham County might actually make your day, as officers are surprising some drivers with free fair tickets during traffic stops.
- Multiple police departments in Ingham County are giving away free county fair tickets during some routine traffic stops.
- The initiative is a partnership between Ingham County Sheriff's Office and police departments in Mason, East Lansing, Williamston, and Leslie.
- Officers clarify that all stops are still for legitimate traffic violations, not random encounters.
WATCH: Police surprise drivers with fair tickets instead of traffic citations
I'm at the Ingham County Fairgrounds where instead of handing out citations, officers are handing out free fair tickets during some traffic stops leading up to the annual fair.
"They reached out to us and asked if we could help publicize the fair," said Captain Andrew Daenzer with the Ingham County Sheriff's Office.
Daenzer tells me they wanted to help get families out to the county fair this year in a unique way.
"The idea was tickets to the fair instead of traffic tickets," Daenzer said.
He says they've partnered with Mason, East Lansing, Williamston, and Leslie police departments to hand out free fair tickets instead of a traffic ticket, which led to mixed reaction on social media. So I headed to downtown Mason to see what neighbors think about it.
"I think it would honestly be funny if I got pulled over and they gave me a free ticket," said Audrey Loomis.
Loomis and Jennah Lattig both had differing opinions.
"If I got pulled over, I would be freaking out," Lattig said.
But Daenzer says neighbors shouldn't worry! He tells me handing out the fair tickets is still centered around routine patrol.
"We're not stopping anyone randomly, there has to be a traffic offense, it's just normal patrol, nothing extra," Daenzer said.
He says they will continue to give away the free fair tickets until they run out.
"Hopefully it leaves a positive experience, a good interaction with an officer. We like those positive interactions between our deputies and the public," Daenzer said.
The fair runs from July 28th to August 2nd and I've linked more information here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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