Fort Worth police give traffic violators turkeys instead of tickets

Fort Worth police officers just wanted a change of pace Wednesday.

So, according to a Police Department Facebook post, “Instead of handing out the usual traffic tickets on traffic stops, they decided to hand out turkeys!”

The birds, courtesy of Metro Ministries, were passed out just in time for Thanksgiving.

Apparently, this is becoming a fad as police and deputies in Roscommon County Sheriff’s Department in Michigan also joined in on spreading some holiday cheer, according to a separate Facebook post that referred to a story by My5News.

By 9 p.m. Wednesday, the post had 41 comments and 128 shares.

“I'm from Dallas and I think what you guys are doing is awesome...God bless you all you should be an inspiration to others,” one woman commented.

Another woman said: “FWPD thank you for your bravery, selflessness and your sacrifice!! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!”

“Though it was not much, we were really happy to be able to bless others with these turkeys,” said Tamera Valle, Fort Worth Police Department spokeswoman. “The holidays can be stressful for families and we were really glad we could maybe ease the stress, if even a little.”

Police said they had run out of turkeys late Wednesday.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 9:17 PM with the headline "Fort Worth police give traffic violators turkeys instead of tickets."