King cakes, cookies for good drivers
Published 9:55 am Friday, January 29, 2016
- Jevon Johnson, left, receives a king cake for good driving from Officer Antoine. Mary Meaux/The News
The News staff writer
Jevon Johnson was driving down Procter Street on his way to work when Port Arthur Police Officer Rickey Antoine activated his emergency lights behind him.
Johnson pulled over, took the keys out of his ignition and held the keys out his truck window to show the officer he was not going anywhere.
This wasn’t a normal traffic stop, as Johnson hadn’t broke any laws. Instead Antoine informed him he was driving correctly and presented the Louisiana man with a king cake from Rao’s Bakery.
“I was racking my brain,” Johnson said, wondering if he had broken any laws.
A short time later, Sandra Louis was pulled over by Antoine just as she neared her place of employment. She too received a king cake for obeying traffic laws.
Sandra Louis, left, receives a king cake from Officer Antoine.
Mary Meaux/The News
“I’m going to put this on Facebook,” Louis said with a laugh. “Wait until I tell my husband. He’s going to ask ‘what did you do?’”
Motorists caught obeying traffic laws in Port Arthur could get rewarded with a king cake or cookies courtesy of Port Arthur Police Department and Rao’s Bakery.
Port Arthur Police Lt. Steve Brinson, left, Rao’s Bakery owner Jake Tortorice Jr. and Officer Rickey Antoine show some of the king cake that will be given to good drivers in Port Arthur. Tortorice approached the police department several weeks ago with the idea of giving the cakes and coupons for free cookies.
Mary Meaux/The News
Jake Tortorice Jr., owner of Rao’s, contacted Officer Antoine and Lt. Steve Brinson with the idea several weeks ago. Tortorice, an advocate of buckling children in correctly, donated stacks of king cakes and upwards of 300 coupons for five free cookies each for the department’s traffic enforcement unit to give to safe drivers.
“I’m really interested in the kids,” Tortorice, a proud grandparent, said. “I’m a big advocate of buckling them up and keeping kids safe in the car. Kids are our future.”
Antoine said this is a good opportunity to reward good drivers.
“This is an excellent opportunity to reward motorists who obey the law,” Antoine said. “This is a good outreach and a way to stay connected, and it’s proof positive that not everybody breaks the law.”
The partnership between the successful businessman and the police department came weeks before Antoine was the center of a BuzzFeed story that went viral regarding his ticketing of motorists disobeying the law.
Ironically, Johnson, the first driver pulled over on Thursday, was unaware of Antoine’s reputation for issuing tickets without exception to people who violate the law.
The good driver rewards will continue through Fat Tuesday.
E-mail: mary.meaux@panews.com
Twitter: MaryMeauxPANews
