An officer in Manchester, New Hampshire, witnessed a driver run a red light and nearly cause a serious crash. Fortunately, no collision happened, but the other driver screamed his lungs out in anger, and a confrontation appeared to be imminent. The officer stepped in in time and defused the situation swiftly.
The Manchester NH Police shared the footage of the incident on Tuesday, June 14. At the time, Officer Dan Richmond was at an intersection right behind a white sedan.
They had the green, so the sedan turned to the left. Unbeknownst to him, another driver sitting behind the wheel of a black SUV chose to run a red light in the intersecting street.
The officer said, “Oh…” as he believed he was about to witness a serious crash. Fortunately, the sedan’s driver managed to brake in time, avoiding a collision.
Screaming Leads to Traffic Stop
The officer followed the two cars immediately. As he turned left, the sedan’s driver could be heard screaming at the SUV’s driver, although what he said exactly was unintelligible.
“This guy is… Literally, I want to stop him,” Officer Richmond said. “But she just went through a red light.”
The woman stopped her car at the nearby gas station, and the officer stopped just behind her. He got out of his patrol car and spoke with the woman to defuse the situation.
A Conversation
Officer Richmond and the woman began having a conversation, during which she admitted to being “timid” in the yellow. She said that she wasn’t sure whether to go or not, but chose to accelerate.
“We had like a solid green, and then you came through, so…” the officer said. “I just saw a car almost smash into you. He could’ve hit you; he could’ve slowed down, too.”
While sitting in his unit, Officer Richmond explained that the man had driven aggressively and he would’ve stopped him in other circumstances. However, since she was “100% in the wrong,” he opted not to.
De-Escalation
In the end, the officer issued the SUV’s driver a citation. He thanked her for cooperating with him and comforted the already-nervous woman by saying that no collision occurred and that no one was hurt.
“The police are here to help, even though traffic stops stink,” Officer Richmond said. “Nothing to be afraid of, okay?”
Commenters seemed to appreciate the officer’s handling of the situation. Others also said that many drivers run the lights at that intersection all the time, while some took aim at the woman for her driving.