Mississippi State Trooper voids speeding ticket after prayer bracelet gesture

JACKSON, MS (KTRK) -- A Mississippi state trooper says he voided a $200 speeding ticket because the driver expressed concern for police safety. The driver also gave the officer an inexpensive wooden bracelet with Christian symbols.

Trooper Jason Ales, a Baptist deacon, says he was touched by the sentiment and is keeping the bracelet by his dashboard camera.

The driver, 27-year-old Mike Powers of Nashville, Tennessee, says he's not "overly religious," but has been giving similar bracelets to friends.

Powers says he has been upset about recent killings of law enforcement officers around the U.S., so as Ales handed him a ticket Wednesday, Powers said he supports police and handed the trooper the bracelet.

"I told him I want you to have this. Hopefully, if you ever needed to, God forbid, it will come in handy and keep you safe," Powers told WJTV-TV.

"I was so touched by it I almost teared up there," said Ales. "With the stuff that's going on with officers, that right there was so positive we needed that, I mean I needed that,"

Trooper Ales decided to void the speeding ticket. Powers then donated the fine he would have owed for driving 80 in a 65 mph zone near Oxford to a Mississippi children's charity.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.