An Indiana motivational speaker’s viral Facebook post about a traffic stop is now being used to set an example.
Indiana State Trooper Aaron Weller pulled over Dwayne Bryant on Aug. 30th, 2015, while he had been heading to a speaking engagement.

Bryant admitted he had been speeding, but when Weller handed him that speeding ticket, Bryant praised the trooper for treating him with respect.
“He came over and asked the questions do you know why I stopped you,” Bryant said. “And we were able to have a really good quality dialogue. It allowed me to be able to be more understanding that these are human beings.”

Then, the trooper did something unexpected.
“I asked him to give me the ticket back and just felt it my heart it was the right thing to do and ripped the ticket up and wrote him a warning,” Weller said.

Bryant immediately wrote about his experience on Facebook and it caught the attention of people around the country, including the Indiana State Police who turned the experience into a training video.
“The Indiana State Police, they’re making a concerted effort to train their officers to make sure they understand verbal judo and how to deescalate a situation,” Bryant said.

Trooper Weller hopes people learn from the story behind the traffic stop.
“There is no reason for them to show us disrespect we are not going to show them disrespect,” Weller said.

Source: NBC Chicago

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God is using me in dynamic ways! As many of you all may remember, back in September, I experienced a traffic stop with Officer Aron Weller for a speeding violation he disagreed when heading to a speaking engagement in Battle Creek, Michigan. Well, since then, I have been teaming with the Indiana State Police to restore relationships between police and the communities they serve. The “Indiana Police Do It Right” video featuring Officer Weller and myself is just the beginning how our new found partnership.

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Today, I would like to share with you my testimony and inspiration for “The STOP.”

Derived from my encourter with an Indiana state trooper, I had an experience of a lifetime that could have ended fatally. Take a moment to watch my video to go back to that day I was hurriedly trying to get to a speaking engagement, which lead to my being pulled over by the trooper.

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A traffic stop normally is not news. But this one is.

A black driver from Chicago and a white Indiana State Police trooper had a roadside encounter with an outcome that might surprise you. Their story has gone viral.

When they reunited Friday and shook hands, CBS 2’s Dorothy Tucker was there.

Indiana Trooper Aron Weller has written at least 6,600 tickets in his eight-year career. But he’d never changed his mind and never tore one up until last Sunday.

This first-time event happened when the trooper stopped Dwayne Bryant on the toll road for speeding.

Bryant, an African American, concedes he got nervous when he saw the trooper walking toward his vehicle. He said he thought about “every black male and female that’s been killed in some level of custody of the law.”

As Weller approached Bryant’s car, he says he wondered: “Is this the guy that’s going to kill me today?”

Both were on guard, but Bryant followed the rules he gives to the young black males he mentors: Be compliant and respect authority.

“You respect authority no matter what. I don’t have to like authority. I don’t have to agree with authority. But I respect authority,” he says.

Said the trooper: “He did everything perfect.”

Bryant had been traveling 85 in a 65 mph zone. Weller could have given him a $500 ticket but instead he gave him a $150 ticket.

The motorist took a picture at the time and later posted it on Facebook describing his joy at getting the lesser penalty.

He also wrote that when he told the trooper he would share his positive experience with his students, Weller tore up the ticket and instead gave him a warning.

“What he does and how he talks to kids and tells them to do what the police say – I think that’s exceptional,” the trooper says.

The positive exchange has gone viral, getting some 350,000 hits and making both men grateful for the moment.

Source: Dorothy Tucker – CBS

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