To the editor,
The evening of Friday, Feb. 2, I was pulled over by Officer James Tortora. Once I got over my initial angst at having been stopped, the entire experience was actually quite pleasant.
I’d passed Tortora going two miles over the speed limit, giving him cause to run my plates, which came up as unregistered.
Tortora was polite from the outset, explaining why he’d stopped me. He was patient as I searched for my registration amongst the mountain of oil change receipts in my glovebox. He was understanding when I found I’ve been unknowingly driving around with my husband’s insurance card (and he with mine). He was equally considerate when I told him my driver’s license had expired, and sympathetic when I told him of the unknown, ancient Massachusetts ticket that had held up my renewal.
He found that running my VIN showed my registration was valid, and had no idea why it didn’t come up when he ran my plate, something I’ll discuss with DMV when I renew my license this week.
Basically, he had every reason to write me a citation, or give me a hard time since — as I look at the whole picture — I was a bit of a mess. Instead, he was civil, professional and just generally nice. He even advised that, should I be pulled over again, I ask the officer to run my VIN, rather than my plates.
People are so quick these days to point out when things go wrong, particularly when police are involved. I wanted to be sure to recognize that my interaction with Officer Tortora was a very positive one.
Allison Dederer Romano
Naugatuck
