An exhausting and eventful week ended with a Michigan woman being crowned Mrs. Serbia Worldwide, but her return home got a little complicated after landing at Wayne County Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Laura Valentina Gatny, fresh from winning the title, landed at about 9:35 p.
m. on Aug. 4 with her husband, Ryan.
Parked in the 9600 block of Middlebelt Road at an airline park and ride lot, the couple approached their Jeep and realized it had been damaged. Both sides of the vehicle had a long scratch, with one side worse than the other, according to Gatny. She said she wasn’t positive that it was intentional, but thought it was best to make a police report.
After calling the non-emergency line of the Romulus Police Department, Gatny said they were fortunate to have officer Jacob Phelps respond. “He said it looked like it was vandalism,” Gatny said. “It was from a key or sharp object and it went all the way around.
” At this point, Gatny said it was about midnight and although she was worn down from the long travel and the damage to the vehicle, she took a moment to commend Phelps’ professionalism. “He was so lovely,” she said. “He said he would write a report on it.
We just had a nice interaction with him. He had a nice conversation with my husband, a firefighter in Sterling Heights.” Gatny said it was about then Phelps noticed and commented on the sash she won hours ago.
She said at that point in the night she had put her hair in a ponytail and was no longer trying to look like she had just stepped off the runway. It appears Phelps was able to put Gatny at ease and she was so appreciative of how he handled their situation she asked him for a tiny favor. “Officer Phelps was so sweet and helpful that I had to awkwardly ask him to take a picture with me at midnight under these amazing lights,” she said.
“Honestly, cops have one of the hardest jobs in the world and I am always grateful to feel protected whenever I’ve needed them. I just wanted to say thank you for your kindness, patience, and decency.” When she returned home in Birmingham, she made a brief social media post about the incident.
She explained police receive a good deal of criticism, some just and some unjust, and she is choosing to draw attention to a positive situation involving a Romulus police officer. With a platform promoting “rising together, a global mental wellbeing initiative to raise awareness, dismantle stigma, provide vital support to people with mental health challenges and prevent suicide as a united front,” Gatny wants to be magnet for positivity and positive change. She is also the global service ambassador to the Love Without Boundaries Foundation that provides hope and healing to vulnerable children and families in underserved countries.
Romulus Police Chief Robert Pfannes was impressed to see the effort Gatny put into highlighting one of his police officers. “It was just professional business,” Pfannes said. “Other officers didn’t know until days after when she posted to FB.
Officer Phelps had not even mentioned it to anyone.” While it isn’t often a newly crowned international beauty queen calls Romulus police for assistance, Pfannes appreciated Gatny commending Phelps. He believes the department’s philosophy on interacting with the public works no matter who the caller is or their situation.
“We pride ourselves on treating people the way we’d like our family treated by the police, so it was a nice affirmation of the way our officers handle themselves.” Gatny thought only her followers would see the social media post and never expected it to gain the attention that it did. She is glad something positive received such traction.
Looking back on the experience, Gatny laughed, saying she’s been photographed countless times under high profile circumstances, and the picture that is most talked about is the one she took with the Romulus police officer..
