Retired New Jersey police officer Matthew Bailly (left) shaking hands with New Jersey State Trooper Michael Patterson (right) after realizing he helped deliver the trooper 27 years ago. (New Jersey State Police)
A New Jersey State Trooper got a dose of serendipity Friday when he met the retired police officer who delivered him 27 years ago—by pulling him over.
Trooper Michael Patterson stopped Matthew Bailly in Kingwood Township for driving with tinted windows, but never got around to giving the ticket, NJ.com reported.
In the course of their conversation, Bailly mentioned to the young trooper that he was a retired Piscataway cop. Patterson, a native of Piscataway, told the retired cop that was his hometown—then fate took its course.
“We’re not sure what the odds are of this happening—maybe they’re close to the odds of a hole-in-one, winning the lottery, or being struck by lightning—but it happened,” New Jersey State Police wrote on Facebook.
Bailly asked the Trooper what street he grew up on. When Patterson answered, the retired cop told him he was familiar with it. Bailly recalled a curious memory of when he was a rookie cop and delivered a baby there 27 years ago.
Bailly was able to describe the house’s color and style—and then the baby’s name, Michael.
“My name is Michael Patterson, sir. Thank you for delivering me."
“My name is Michael Patterson, sir. Thank you for delivering me,” the trooper said, extending his hand to the retired cop.
Bailly was a four-year rookie when he responded to a home in Piscataway on Oct. 5, 1991, the New Jersey State Police wrote. Patterson’s mother, Karen, went into labor while out shopping and barely made it home. Patterson’s father, Bobby, had to help carry his mother inside and called a doctor.
Trooper Michael Patterson (left) standing with retired police officer Matthew Baily (right) at a reunion following the traffic stop. (New Jersey State Police / Facebook)
Bailly responded and delivered Trooper Patterson inside the home while on the phone with the doctor, who talked the rookie through the birth.
And 27 years after the fact, the roadside reunion led Trooper Patterson and his mother to visit Bailly and his wife at their home, where they decided the story was so uplifting it needed to be shared.
“After all, as a police officer, you don’t always get a chance to have a moment like this with people you once helped in your career,” the New Jersey State Police wrote.
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