Emmett Township Public Safety Officer Ben Hall is being called a hero because he didn't give a 25-year-old mom a ticket after pulling her over because her daughter was in the backseat without a booster seat.

Officer Hall saw Lexi de Lorenzo driving near downtown Battle Creek with her daughter in the back seat. She had a seatbelt on but Michigan law requires a booster seat for children less than 8 years old.

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De Lorenzo, 25, recalled her seat sank when she saw she was being pulled over and the officer approaching. She was going through rough times. Her fiancé had lost his job in July and was recently diagnosed with cancer. She said they were living from paycheck to paycheck and traffic ticket wouldn't help.

Her ex-husband had custody of their two children, but de Lorenzo had visitation rights. Borrowing a friend's car, she had just picked up the girl when Officer Hall pulled them over.

What happened next came as a big surprise for de Lorenzo. After telling the officer about her current situation, she was told to meet him at a local Walmart in 15 minutes. There, Officer Hall picked out a brand new booster seat, paid US$55 for it, and gave it to de Lorenzo.

"She was telling me that she hit a rough patch," Hall recalled when interviewed by NBC. "I know that writing a citation wasn't going to solve the problem. The biggest thing I wanted to do is give the child a reliable and dependable booster seat and giving someone a ticket is not going to fix that."

De Lorenzo was almost in tears when she was told the seat was hers, and she wasn't getting a ticket.

"It was an unforgettable experience," DeLorenzo said. "I've never heard of a cop going out of his way - when he could have easily given me a ticket and made things more difficult. He, out of his own pocket and the kindness of his heart, did something to help me."

A Walmart employee took photos of the mother-and-child and Officer Hall. These and the story behind it has become viral, earning hundreds of praises for the police officer and his department.

TagsMichigan, Lexie de Lorenzo, Officer Ben Hall