There are a lot of ways to identify a hero. It may be overcoming personal struggles or making big sacrifices for family and friends. Some are professional heroes like first responders. It may seem trite to say that every police officer is a hero, but no one dons the badge every day without knowing that their courage and resilience may be severely tested before the end of the day.
Among the invisible successes is the August 20th arrest of a 17-year-old Austin, TX teen by Austin city and Austin school district police for threatening Graham Elementary School. The suspect communicated her threat online, showing interest in previous school shooters and sharing plans to kill family members. The FBI received tips about the threats and teamed up with local law enforcement to investigate.
While not acts of bravery, heroes from Melvindale, Michigan Police Department gathered to escort third grader Yousef Said to his first day of school. The 7 year old is the brother of fallen officer Mohamed Said, who as a first year officer at age 26 was shot while investigating a suspicious person who shot Said and then led police on a manhunt. Michael Lopez, 44 was found and arrested for the murder.
Near Bakersfield, CA three Kern County deputies were evacuating citizens from the advance of a wildfire when they became trapped with no way through the fire that surrounded them. Air relief was out of the question. Kern County Fire Department personnel were finally able to contact the deputies and a U.S. Forest Service Officer who was also trapped. The rescue was successful. Quite a few heroes in that incident.
Even with miles of patrolling and constant vigilance, the chance of nabbing a burglar in the act is small. Chicago police were able to interrupt the theft of several big screen televisions from a train yard shipment in August. Four suspects attempted to flee from arriving officers but were caught near the scene. Thirty-nine televisions, still in their box, were recovered.
Sheriff’s deputies in Marion County, FL get credit for taking a sextortion case seriously and apprehending the extortionist after a harrowing foot pursuit through a local Walmart. The suspect’s vehicle was located in the store’s parking lot and deputies went inside the store to look for him. When spotted, he bolted through the aisles, tossing a gun or two along the way. When apprehended in the parking lot, the man was in possession of a stolen handgun and paraphernalia that tested positive for fentanyl. He was also wanted for robbery in another jurisdiction, and charged with assaulting an officer during booking.
In August, Danbury, CT police rescued two kidnapping victims who were found injured from a beating and bound with duct tape in a van. The motive for the kidnapping was unclear, but six men from Florida were arrested with no small effort by DPD. Three officers were injured during the search and apprehension of the suspects who had fled on foot.
Lt. Bill Henry of the Fulshear, TX Police Department near Houston went above and beyond on an animal control complaint recently. A resident called police to report that his doorway was blocked by an alligator. Henry grabbed the gator by the neck and tail and carried it away. While the critter wasn’t huge, neighbors hailed him as a hero as he did not hesitate to take matters, literally, into his own hands without calling for backup. As fate would happen, this was actually the Lt’s second alligator catch of the day.
During summer flooding in Connecticut two Wilton Police officers, aided by two other Good Samaritans helped shuttle stranded bus passengers through the severe weather to another transit station to catch a secondary bus. In major weather events, first responders are always taxed and stretched, but the officers took the time to bring aid and comfort to the stranded passengers before moving on to the next call.
Policing truly is like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates.
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