Cop hands out ice cream instead of ticket

HALIFAX, Va. -- When one woman was pulled over by police officers in Virginia, she thought she was going to get a ticket - but instead she received a sweet surprise. The entire traffic stop was caught on camera and it's making people smile across the country.

The video shows Officer Brian Warner of Halifax, Virginia, stopping a female driver for violating "vehicle code 1.7.3.9," which stipulates that it is against the law to "drive on a hot day without an ice cream cone."

The woman, who at first appeared nervous, burst into laughter along with her passenger.

They both got free ice cream cones from Officer Warren and Police Chief Kevin Lands, who was filming the encounter and later posted it on Facebook where it has since gone viral. In just a few days, the clip has been viewed more than four million times.

Officer Brian Warner told WSET-TV they pulled over 20 people that day and everyone received an ice cream cone. However, he said the reaction of the woman in the car was definitely the sweetest.

"Her reaction was absolutely the best," said Warner. "It was genuine, and she had us smiling and laughing for a good hour afterwards, and I've probably watched the video myself 50 times just laughing. And that's one of the great things with police work, you get to meet people like that on a daily basis, and it makes the job worth it."

The Halifax Police Department has only five officers, but every patrol car has a cooler full of frozen treats. Officer Warner said they do things like this quite a bit, but this is the first time they recorded it. So if you're ever pulled over in Halifax - you might just get away with a sweet warning.