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HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — When it comes to illegal parking by the ferry terminal in one Canada city, no one is above the law — not even 3-year-olds.
That’s what little Declan Tramley learned — all in good fun, of course — when he brazenly pulled up to a police officer at Halifax’s waterfront on his red, plastic motorbike.
“This one young fellow comes down, he brings his little motorcycle down and he parked it just like the big motorcycles,” Halifax Constable Shawn Currie told CBC News. “We thought it would be funny to go over and I pretended to write a ticket for him.”
Declan’s dad snapped a photo of the transaction — perfectly capturing little Declan with his hand on his forehead as Currie knelt down beside him, writing out his fake “ticket.” He sent the photo to the police department, and officers couldn’t resist posting it to their Facebook page Sunday.
“Remember, you cannot park your motorcycle in the circle by the ferry terminal,” the post reads. “We caught this ruthless biker there yesterday.”
It's nice to show the different sides of police. We're not always making arrests and hauling people away … We like to have fun.
–Constable Shawn Currie, Halifax Regional Police
The post quickly caught fire, generating nearly 10,000 likes, thousands of shares and even more reposts on Twitter. People can’t get enough of the little outlaw.
Curry said he’s been pleased with all the positive buzz and love. He said most people don’t think of police as people with a sense of humor — a misconception he hopes to change.
“It’s nice to show the different sides of police,” he told CTV News. “We’re not always making arrests and hauling people away … We like to have fun.”
Curry said the ticket was blank, and he gave his new little friend a sticker badge as another token of their friendship. As for Declan? He’s not getting rid of that ticket anytime soon.
“He loves his ticket now,” Declan’s mother, Lisa Tramley, told CTV. “He tried to go to bed with his ticket.”