Upper Makefield police received a refreshing message recently.
The police department posted on Facebook that they received an “unexpected surprise” from someone they arrested years ago.
Below is the message:
It’s been on my mind for a while to contact your department. I was going to write a letter but I didn’t know who to address it to. I don’t know the officer’s name but a little over five years ago I was pulled over and arrested for driving intoxicated. I was extremely drunk and had no business driving, it’s something I’m not proud of and did on several occasions coming from a bar in New Hope driving home to New Jersey. I want to thank that officer and your department for stopping me that night. I could have seriously hurt others, myself, or worse my poor decisions could have cost people their lives. The consequences of my DUI, other factors in my life, and what I learned in the ARD program (a special pre-trial intervention program for nonviolent offenders with no prior record) made me realize that I am an alcoholic and needed help. I lost my CDL license and my job so I had to take a job at a grocery store as a cashier to make ends meet, I’ve since worked my way up to being a Produce Department manager and last September I celebrated three years of sobriety and not all but a big part was because of that officer doing a great service to the community and getting a drunk off the road and in doing so made a huge difference to my life. I can’t thank you enough.
“We admire their courage in writing such an honest and heartfelt note to us and for allowing their message to be posted on Facebook in the hopes that what they wrote will plant the seed in someone’s heart and mind that despite the isolation, desperation, and helplessness one may feel in their life, that there is hope, that there is a better tomorrow, and that they have the strength to change their life,” police said in their post.
“We often wonder if we make an impact or if what we do ever makes a difference. If you wonder the same, please know that your words have had an impact. On us. Our spirit is renewed, our resolve is stronger and we will continue to serve and protect the community we love to the best of our ability,” they said.
