A man who received a $175 traffic ticket for unbuckling his seatbelt to give change to what turned out to be a police officer posing as a panhandler is likely to think twice before giving to the less fortunate again.
Dane Rusk was driving away from a mall in Regina (Saskatchewan, Canada) on Wednesday when he spotted what he thought was a panhandler on the side of the road.
“As I came up to the stop sign, I stopped and looked and I saw this homeless guy holding a sign,” Rusk said.
“I instantly felt sorry for him.”
That’s when Rusk said he took off his seatbelt and grabbed $3 from his pocket.
“I reached out – I had to undo my seat belt, hang over and drop the change on the curb.”
Moments after dropping the change, Rusk was pulled over by police and issued a ticket.
The person Rusk handed change to was an undercover cop, and Rusk received the fine for not wearing a seat belt.
Rusk said he was “pretty shocked” by the incident. “The ticket’s $175 and the three dollars I gave to him – I’m out $178 all because I was trying to help out a homeless guy.”
But Regina police say this is nothing new. It’s part of a project that has police watching for traffic violations at intersections.
The police officer’s sign was not soliciting money. In Regina, panhandling is not considered a crime, however, the city does have a bylaw that prohibits soliciting to vehicle occupants in high-traffic areas.