The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office turkey for ticket

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - The countdown is on, and we are just hours away from Thanksgiving.

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office is giving drivers something to be thankful for.

“Our job in law enforcement is to enforce the laws of our community, whether it’s traffic tickets, or burglaries or whatever, and you know, you have to have law enforcement, you have to have law and order,” said Sheriff Tony Mancuso. “It’s just we’re gonna do things a little differently today.”

With the help of 5 Star, they’re giving out turkeys instead of tickets to those who commit minor traffic violations.

“I was listening to KLove one year, and someone had said that their business did this somewhere up north, and I thought you know what, that’s, that’s amazing, so I stole that idea, and I called the sheriff’s department, I called Tony and got together, and we couldn’t do it without them

4 years later, owner Caran Shaheen tells me they are giving out 100 turkeys this year.

“I just truly like to give back to the community in any way that I can, and seeing their faces and knowing that they will be happy and have a full belly at Thanksgiving makes me feel happy,” she said.

Sheriff Mancuso explains people’s reactions tend to take a 180-degree turn.

“At first they’re like, you know, what did I do? or they’re, they’re kind of bummed out,” he said. “But when they get that turkey, they put a smile on their face and say, thank you, and they’re appreciative of it.”

That’s exactly what I saw as I got to ride along and watch firsthand as they got the news.

“At first, I was worried, but you know I just got some good news man, and I’m really thankful for it,” said Trevon Richard.

For Jocelyn Duncan, this came at a perfect time.

“I just moved back into my house from all the devastation.”

Shaheen says the number “five” is a special number to her family because they have five kids, and since next year will be their fifth anniversary doing this, they’re hoping to do it up even bigger.

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