Doing it right in Lakeview attracts police attention

Thursday, Lakeview Police Chief David Hotchkiss sat in his patrol vehicle and watched a light colored Cadillac occupied by a female driver and male passenger drive by on the town's main drag.

"They're going the speed limit and both of them are wearing their seat belts," Hotchkiss noted as the car cruised serenely by his SUV. "That looks like a good one to pull over."

Hotchkiss pulled out and ran the license plate. The dispatcher informed him who owned the car and that everything checked out fine. Hotchkiss pulled the car over. The male passenger popped out of the car with his hands up in a joking manner. Then he asked what the driver had done wrong.

The police chief told the passenger to get back in the car and he would explain things to them. Hotchkiss went to the female driver, collected her information, went back to his patrol vehicle and ran the information. The driver came back with a clean driving record and all her paperwork checked out just fine.

Hotchkiss went back to Cadillac where the driver and passenger, Bull Shoals residents Cindy and Kirby Davenport, got a surprise.

"We are conducting a 'Doing it Right Safe Driving Campaign. We look for people wearing their seat belts, obeying the speed limit and all the traffic laws," Hotchkiss told them. "You were doing the right thing so we want to give you this Starbucks gift certificate."

"I was surprised because I thought I was going the speed limit," Cindy Davenport said of the traffic stop, laughing. "It's a nice thought, but it was a little unnerving when you first get pulled over."

The Bull Shoals couple were headed out of town to visit their grandchildren and do some Christmas shopping when Cindy saw the blue lights come on behind her.

"I didn't think it was me he wanted because I was behind the truck," said Cindy. "I really didn't think I was speeding. I guess I wasn't."

Why they did it

Over the past several days, Hotchkiss and officer Gary Payton handed out a total of 15 gift certificates, some to Starbucks and some to the 178 Club. Hotchkiss said there was a reason he decided to see if he could put the little program in place.

"Recently, we've seen a lot of negative things about the police," the chief said. "I just wanted to do something that let the community see us doing something good and let us look for drivers doing good things."

Hotchkiss shared the idea with the town's mayor Dennis Behling.

"When the chief came to me with this idea, I thought it sounded great," Behling said. "I sent an email to the council members asking if anyone had a problem with it and I never heard anything back negative so we went ahead."

Private citizens donated money to fund the 15 gift certificates that ranged from $10 to $25 each.

What happened when they did it

Hotchkiss said looking for people doing something good was a switch for both him and Payton.

"Usually as a police officer, you're looking around to make sure everything is secure and that people aren't committing crimes," Hotchkiss said. "It was different looking for people doing the right thing. It felt good."

For officer Payton, the experience also was different from routine patrols.

"I talked to him about it at one point," said Mayor Behlings. "He told me it took some time to stop looking for someone doing something wrong and to start looking for someone doing something right."

Overall, Hotchkiss said the experience was a positive one for both officers and the community.

"When we answer calls, it means something generally has gone wrong, so we see people when they're hurt, they're angry, they've committed a crime. This was an opportunity to interact with people for a positive reason," the chief said. "For the community, it allowed them to interact with us when there was nothing wrong and we were giving them a gift. That allowed us to start relationships on a positive note and that's great."