Driver ticketed for giving money to cop disguised as panhandler

Dane Rusk was driving his car in Regina, Saskatchewan when he saw a panhandler at the intersection holding a cardboard sign. Rusk took off his seatbelt to give $3 to the panhandler. Moments later he was pulled over and issued a $175 traffic ticket for unbuckling his seatbelt. The officer who pulled him over explained that the panhandler was an undercover cop who reported Rusk to the patrol car officer.

Rusk said he was "pretty shocked" by the incident. "The ticket's $175 and the three dollars I gave to him - I'm out $178 all because I was trying to help out a homeless guy."

But Regina police say this is nothing new. It's part of a project that has police watching for traffic violations at intersections.

"Intersections are probably one of the most critical areas when it comes to accidents obviously, and our high-volume intersections are ones that we tend to target," said Insp. Evan Bray. "So we will run random intersection projects throughout the city."