Somerville officer who sent flowers to woman she pulled over gets award
The Somerville police officer who took an unusual step after a traffic stop last week has been given the “Beyond the Call of Duty’’ award, according to the department.
Officer Ashley Catatao was conducting traffic enforcement on Alewife Book Parkway on Nov. 4, when she pulled over a driver for speeding. Her interactions with the driver led Catatao to reach out after the traffic stop. She sent flowers to the driver who’d just found out her mother had to go into hospice care.
“I have my son every single day and everything I do, I do for him,’’ Catatao said of why she reached out. “So to realize that someday I could lose my mother who has done so much for me, and to think about my son losing me someday—god forbid it’s from the job—I’m hoping it’s someday when I’m really old and he’s prepared for it. But it just moved me to think, ‘This could be me.’ Where I have to say goodbye to my mom, or my son has to say goodbye to me.’’
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