[dropcap]A[/dropcap] planned mock traffic stop turned into a surprise moment for a Buda couple prior to Christmas.
With the help of the Buda Police Department, Emmanuel Avina proposed to his girlfriend Paulina Rios Dec. 22, which was captured on video and has since gone viral online.
Assisting Avina was Buda Sgt. Erica Simmons and Public Information Officer Brittany Tate.
Tate posted a video of the mock traffic stop on the Buda Police Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Buda Police Chief Bo Kidd said that when Avina approached the Police station last Thursday, Avina had no idea that his plan of a surprise proposal to Rios would even be possible.
Simmons and Tate helped arrange the fake traffic stop, allowing Avina to conduct his down-on-one-knee proposal.
“We (BPD) said we wanted to connect with citizens in new and innovative ways and this is one of those ways,” Kidd said.
The video of the proposal has already had over 40,000 views on the station’s Facebook page with a sign-off from Simmons to dispatch confirming that Rios “said yes”.
“We were very glad to be a part of such a special moment and at the same time something like this helps to humanize the badge and show people that cops are just people too, men and women in uniform ready to serve the community,” Kidd said.
