A young man from Illinois thought he’d well and truly blown it when cops pulled him over on the way to a job interview.
22-year-old Ka’Shawn Baldwin was pulled over in Cahokia, Illinois, on Wednesday April 17. He had allegedly been driving with expired plates and without a valid driver’s licence.
However, Ka’Shawn had a really good excuse: he had been on his way to a job interview and had no other way to get there.
Fearing police officers would tow the car and leave him without transportation, Ka’Shawn felt he had lost his shot at the job before even sitting the interview.
Ka’Shawn told CNN what had been going through his mind after being pulled over:
I thought it was over.
The main thing that was running through my mind [was] I’m fixin’ to miss the job interview and get the car towed that wasn’t even mine.
Luckily for him, the officer who pulled him over had a good heart and – after hearing of his predicament – decided to help Ka’Shawn out.
Instead of handing Ka’Shawn a ticket and towing the vehicle, Officer Roger Gemoules drove him to the interview himself after dropping the car off at a safe location.
Officer Gemoules, a resource officer at Cahokia High School who had been on patrol that day, told CNN:
He was very respectful when I pulled him over and you could just tell — I could feel that he really was wanting to get to this job interview.
Best of all, Ka’Shawn completely aced the job interview, and was given the job. He told CNN:
I was a few minutes late, but I made it.
I was grateful, I was thankful. Made it to the interview, I got a job.
Assistant to Cahokia Mayor Curtis McCall Jr., Francella Jackson, praised Officer Gemoules in a touching Facebook post:
Cahokia police officer Roger Gemoules pulled a vehicle over yesterday that had expired plates. The occupant of the car also did not have a valid driver’s license, etc.
He told Officer Gemoules that he had a job interview and didn’t have any way of getting there and that’s why he was driving illegally. Instead of issuing him a ticket, Officer Gemoules took him to his interview AND HE GOT THE JOB!
On behalf of Mayor Curtis McCall Jr., I would like to thank Officer Gemoules for showing compassion and being a great example of how community oriented policing actually works.
A very well done to Officer Gemoules for going above and beyond his duties to help someone out. And congratulations to Ka’Shawn Baldwin in his new role.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via stories@unilad.co.uk
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.