Normally, being stopped by a police officer is not good news. But this traffic stop was not exactly typical.

When Hayden Carlo was pulled over by a Plano, Texas, cop for driving a car with an expired registration, he told the officer the truth.

"I said there's no explanation for why I haven't done it, except I don't have the money. It was either feed my kids or get this registration done," the 25-year-old told CBS News.

The cop handed Carlo a ticket, along with something extra, "I opened it up and there's a $100 bill," said Carlo. "I broke down in my car, what else could I do?"

He could, and did, update his and his wife's car registrations. Carlo's grandfather, Billy McIntire, then wrote a letter to the Police Department to commend the good-hearted cop.

McIntire told CBS, "I get emotional when we talk about this type of thing. You just don't find that many officers who would do this type of thing."

Or anyone who would, for that matter.

Recently, images of an NYPD officer buying boots for a barefoot man spread on the Web along with praise for the officer's warm gesture. But the mystery cop in Plano chooses not to be identified.

Still, the department plans to honor him anyway. A Police Department spokesman, David Tilley, told CBS, "As he told me, this man needed it more than him, and it was the right thing to do."

"He helped me out when I needed it. I appreciate that, I'll never forget that man," Carlo said. "It definitely restored my faith in God."