Maxine Morgan and her husband Jimmy were on their way to Shreveport to attend a memorial ceremony for their daughter Daphne, who had died a few days before. Because of the circumstances, their travel speed was the last thing on their minds. She wasn’t really paying attention to her speed going down the road, Maxine said. She was concentrating on her driving. But her thoughts were elsewhere.
Maxine was startled to see blue lights flashing behind her. She’d just passed through a speed trap, and Bossier Parrish Sheriff’s Deputy Jackie Loveless had caught them on radar speeding. She was parked at Taylor’s Grocery, looking for speeders heading west, Loveless said. They were speeding by when they passed.
Deputy Loveless phones in his location and license plate at every traffic stop, as is regular protocol. Loveless, though, offers a short prayer before entering his van, which is unusual for his stops. He, like many other cops, worries about his safety every time he conducts a traffic stop because he understands how fast things can go wrong.
Deputy Loveless greeted Maxine and Jimmy with warmth, asking how they were. So Maxine said that they were on their way to the memorial for their daughter Daphne, who had died only days earlier. It’s hard, very hard, Maxine remarked as she fought back tears. It’s the most difficult thing in the world to have to give up one of one’s children.
He left the pair in astonishment moments after Maxine told Deputy Jackie Loveless where she was going. Loveless handed Maxine Morgan a prayer rather than a speeding ticket. He reached inside the car and took her hand in his. “I asked her, ‘Ma’am, do you mind if I pray with you?'” Loveless remembered. “When the spirit of the Lord comes up to me to pray, I’m obedient to him and pray with that person.”
Maxine and Jimmy, who were overcome with sadness, did not hesitate to join the kindhearted constable in prayer. It was exactly what they needed to get them through what would undoubtedly be a difficult day. It just touched her so much, Maxine said. He took the time to pray with them.
The incident also had an impact on Deputy Jackie Loveless, and he remembered one part of their prayer that particularly stood out to him. In the middle of prayer, she grabbed his hand and held it really tight, he said. And tears began to flow from her, tears of greatness and tears of gratitude.
For Maxine and her husband Jimmy, Deputy Loveless’ kind gesture made a significant difference in their lives. She said that every time she recalls the terrible day of having to bury her daughter, she will remember a constable who took the time to console them in their sadness.
Although Maxine Morgan avoided a speeding ticket, she believes the traffic stop was not without consequence. Maxine and her husband Jimmy will never forget the compassionate cop who went above and beyond to make that terrible day better. She believes he was their miracle that day, she said. They needed something that day, and he gave it to them.
Deputy Loveless is a fantastic example of what it means to serve the people you’ve pledged to protect, and his efforts made an otherwise gloomy day for the Morgans a little brighter. Congratulations to him for going out of his way to assist a family in need of comfort when he could have simply written them a ticket and been done with it.
