Thornton police officer Mickey Schaetzle was working a graveyard shift when he made what he thought would be a  routine traffic stop.

A large tour bus pulled up to a Jack in the Box restaurant in Thornton early on Independence Day. Its hazard lights were blinking. Schaetzle didn’t see any infraction, but he was a bit curious about why the bus had stopped there at 2 a.m. The restaurant was closed after all.

A friendly guy climbed out of the bus and walked up to Schaetzle. He looked vaguely familiar. He said he was a country singer and he and his crew were just trying to get some grub.

“He was real calm and cool. He expressed his support for police. I didn’t recognize him at first. I really couldn’t put a name to the face,” Schaetzle said. “He asked me if I liked country and western music. I said I really don’t any more. We laughed about that. I said I don’t really like the teeny-bopper style of today’s country that sounds like pop music. I like the 1990s era singers like Travis Tritt.”

“‘Like Clint Black?’” the friendly guy asked.

“That’s when it clicked,” Schaetzle said. “I definitely felt star struck. I was pretty excited.”

Read full story at The Denver Post.

Thornton Police officer Mickey Schaetzle with Clint Black. (Photo courtesy of Thornton Police Department/Twitter)

Thornton Police officer Mickey Schaetzle with Clint Black. (Photo courtesy of Thornton Police Department/Twitter)