I just read this morning's Police Blotter and saw a couple of things that I appreciate -- and one that makes me wonder.
"Police checked on an unconscious man leaning up against a power police [sic] on E. 4th Street. The man was evaluated by Fire 5, who said he was okay. Officers asked the man if there was anywhere he would like to go and he said he wanted to go to his sister's house. Police transported the man."
I appreciate that! It's not the first time you've reported such humane and helpful actions by local police, and hopefully it won't be the last. Some folks argue that the police have better things to do, but helping that man was surely the right thing to do, right there, right then. Give credit where it's due.
"An employee of Burger King at 2119 E. 23rd St. told police a tall black male with dreads, wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans, came into the store and knocked a photo off of the wall. The officer knew the suspect, who stays nearby and frequents the Burger King area. The officer showed the employee a photo and she confirmed the man was the person of interest. The employee requested the man stay away from Burger King. The officer found the man at the intersection of E. 20th Street and Mulberry Street. The officer asked the man why he knocked the photo off of the wall, and he said "to straighten it up." The officer told the man to not return to Burger King."
Aha! The officer knew the suspect, and even had a photo of him. I appreciate that. It shows that someone is doing their job the way it ought to be done, and knows the neighborhood and its people in a way that probably saves honest folks a lot of time and trouble. Give credit where it's due.
"A woman on W. 39th Street told police a green Nissan Altima had been left abandoned in the street in front of her house for over 30 days and she was concerned that her next door neighbor might have passed away. Police ran the tag, which came back to a woman who lived next door. Police spoke with the owner of the car and she said the vehicle runs just fine and she is not blocking any driveways. The car was legally parked on the street."
That one makes me wonder. I wonder if she was really a concerned neighbor, or just another troublemaker of a more subtle sort. If she was really concerned about the neighbor's welfare, she might have walked over and knocked on the door. (I did that once in Indiana, and saw through the window that my neighbor really was dead.) Either way, the police got things on W. 39th Street all sorted out and written down; end of that story, for now, anyway.
So, as far as the police officers' performance is concerned in those interesting situations, I give them a perfect score, 3 out of 3. Give credit where it's due.
Larry Cloud
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Larry, hopefully the changes in police approach are real, permanent, sincere and consistent. And not just because cameras, even their own, has shown a light on what many of us concerned citizens have voiced for decades, only to be shutdown, threatened, harassed, stalked, mocked, lied about in our attempts to sound the alarm.
Hopefully, the changes will last beyond this present administration in office. Good, bad or or down right renegade and rogue, often it's the elected officials and powerful citizens of a city who dictate the type of police department the average citizen will cross paths with and how far, at times too far, how much will be acceptable and tolerated.
Hopefully, this time around is real and not because the world had to take notice before anyone would listen to the rest of us and seriously take what we already to be true for far too long.
A nation at war against its own citizens will implode from within. What negatively impacts any one of us, will come to have a same, profound negative impact against all of us. No matter our status or station in life.
Brenda Washington