Cop Issues Speeding Ticket, Asks Driver for a Date and Is Sued
A suburban Chicago police officer allegedly turned a $132 speeding ticket into a pick-up opportunity when he later tracked down the female driver and asked her out, saying the least he could do for the money he'd cost her was to treat her to dinner, according to a lawsuit the woman filed in federal court.
Evagelina Paredes filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago, accusing police officer Chris Collins of violating her privacy, according to the Associated Press. She alleges that after she was ticketed on Oct. 22, Collins searched for her address in the motor-vehicle database and left a handwritten note on the windshield of her car, which was parked outside her apartment, asking her out on a date.
In the note, a copy of which was included in the court documents and was obtained by the Associated Press, the 27-year-old police officer tried to woo Paredes with humor and a seemingly heartfelt plea.
"It's Chris … that ugly bald Stickney cop who gave you that ticket. … I know this may seem crazy and you're probably right, but truth is I have not stopped thinking about you since. I don't expect a girl as attractive as you to … even go for a guy like me, but I'm taking a shot anyways."
"I did cost you $132 - least I can do is buy you dinner," the note reportedly read.
The scenario is not that far off from the "meet-cutes" of Hollywood romantic comedies. In the 2011 hit "Bridesmaids," Kirsten Wiig's character starts a relationship with the traffic cop who let her out of a ticket for a broken taillight.
Arguably, it's a lot less "cute" when it happens in real-life.
Paredes claims that the note caused her to "suffer great fear and anxiety." In the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified payment in damages, according to the Associated Press, Paredes alleges that Collins used his position as a police officer to "manipulate" her into going out with him. Collins declined to comment to the Associated Press.