Reported by Fox 31 Denver on 2015-04-23
A photo of a sheriff’s deputy in Washington state sharing his lunch with a homeless man on the side of the street was quickly going viral on Facebook Thursday, epitomizing what many are calling the good side of policing. The photo was posted on Facebook by Pierce County resident Darren Ballard Sr….
Reported by Fox 12 Oregon on 2015-04-19
A Connecticut officer is being hailed for helping a Bridgeport child in need this weekend. Officer Cody Remy was on patrol in Trumbull Gardens on Saturday when city officials said he stopped to help a child, whose bicycle was broken. The kind gesture was caught on camera and sent out to local media. Remy was unaware the photo was taken….
Reported by CBS News on 2015-04-17
They were the bitterest of enemies. For more than a decade, on the streets of Milwaukee, two men shared a mutual disgust. One was a hardnosed cop named Ray Robakowski…. The other was a drug dealer and gang-banger named Jacob Maclin. Jacob got arrested so many times you can watch him grow old in his mugshots. And it was that career thug — and Ray the officer — who sat down one day over a cup of coffee. The district attorney’s office arranged it. The meeting was to see if cop and criminal could work together and come up with a way to get out of this vicious cycle. But neither guy was buying it. Ray only showed up because his boss made him come. And Jacob was tricked into coming, told he had a job interview. So they basically just glared at each other the entire time. Ray thought Jacob was sure to screw up and wind up behind bars. But eventually, over the next couple months, Jacob proved to Ray that he wanted to get a job and turn his life around….
Reported by Global News on 2015-04-02
A Brentwood, Tennessee police officer said he had to make a split-second decision on how to stop a driver going the wrong way down a major highway last Thursday. The result was this: a head-on crash between the officer’s cruiser and the wrong-way driver, all caught on the dashboard camera…. Brentwood police spotted the vehicle travelling at high speeds near Concord Road in Brentwood, and radioed ahead to Officer Cliff Thompson, who was north of the wrong-way driver. Thompson spotted the driver and attempted to use his patrol car to force her into the concrete median. But with the driver showing no signs of stopping, Thompson said he was forced to make a quick decision, as traffic had been stopped just a little further up the highway. So he aimed his cruiser directly at the oncoming vehicle – and held on tight. Both Thompson and the other driver, 59-year-old Sandra Sharpe of Nashville, Tennessee, were taken to hospital with minor injuries….
Reported by ABC News on April 1, 2015
Two Michigan police officers are being hailed for making the decision to buy a car seat for a family in need instead of citing the child’s parents. Officers Jason Pavlige and James Hodges of Fruitport Township, Michigan, responded to a dispatch call reporting a woman at a local McDonalds holding a baby in her arms in a car’s passenger seat. The officers … pulled over the driver, also the father of the 10-month-old girl, on the violation…. When the officers spoke with the parents, who were not identified, they quickly realized they did not have the resources to purchase a car seat for their daughter…. Instead of issuing the parents a citation, Pavlige and Hodges decided to take action in another way…. While Pavlige stayed with the family, Hodges went to a local Walmart and purchased a new car seat with money from his and Pavlige’s own pockets. They then installed the car seat and gave the family instructions on how to properly use it…. Hodges and Pavlige’s good deed occurred in February but was publicized just last week after a Walmart employee called the police station to report what the officers had done….
Reported by WKYT News on January 29, 2015
It started with a complaint about a shoplifter, but it ended with an act of kindness. A London police officer took it upon himself to help a suspected shoplifter after realizing the man was in a difficult situation…. Roby was called to the Kroger on North Main Street in London on Saturday, Jan. 17 after a loss prevention officer stopped a man who was shoplifting. The suspect was a single father who had fallen on hard times, Roby said. The man was caught stealing baby formula for his six-month-old son, who was with him at the time. The store’s loss prevention officer told Roby he did not want to press charges, and Roby agreed…. But what Roby did next showed the shoplifter what it truly means ‘to protect and serve’ one’s community. He bought some formula himself, giving it to the man for his baby…. Roby also gave the man a message, saying he told the man there are a lot of people and organizations – including the police department – that are available to help those in need….
Reported by Village of Oswego Police, IL on January 25, 2015
Oswego Police arrested two male subjects at Chicago and Garfield for unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. One of the subjects was en route to deliver a pizza to a local residence at the time of arrest. Seeing that the large pizza sitting in the passenger seat had no means of reaching its destination, an officer delivered the pizza to the specified address on the receipt attached. A confused resident accepted the pizza, and was very glad that the police were there to deliver the pizza, rather than talk to them.
Reported by NBC News on January 13, 2015
Madison Police Chief Mike Koval has some strong words to those who penned an open letter accusing his department of bias and contributing to racial disparity in the criminal just system…. The letter was penned by members of the Young, Gifted and Black Coalition. The group has been a driving force behind recent local protests responding to events in Ferguson, New York and Milwaukee…. The group’s open letter, released on Friday, made several demands from the Madison Police Department in regards to community policing, including a line stating: ‘The relationship that we desire to have with the police is simple: no interaction.’ Chief Koval responded, ‘To their edict that we pull out of the neighborhoods: not happening.’… Chief Koval adds, ‘I think that doesn’t begin to address the issue that our neighborhoods are also comprised of victims, of witnesses, of complainants who contrary to what their take is, my take is that when I do community forums, they are begging for the Madison police department to have their presence there….’
Reported by Fox News on December 30, 2014
A 9-year-old boy is on an ‘awesome’ hunting trip in South Carolina after mistakenly asking a Pennsylvania sheriff to teach him how to hunt. Alex Collins flew to Chester, S.C., Monday to hunt with Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood for two days. The sheriff took Alex shopping for boots, pants, a camouflage jacket and a fishing tackle box. Then he lent Alex his favorite rifle and showed the boy how to hold it safely. After that they had a hearty breakfast and ventured into the deep woods to look for deer…. Underwood has a program where he offers to take kids hunting and fishing. The boy’s mother saw the offer on Facebook but when she saw Chester County she thought it was Chester County in Pennsylvania. That’s where she and her son live…. Alex and his mother dropped off hand-written letters to the sheriff in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Carolyn Welsh, just minutes before the deadline…. Alex was crestfallen when he was told about the mix-up. But that’s when Welsh contacted Underwood…. The two sheriffs and their deputies are chipping in for Alex’ trip and his hunting gear….
Reported by Chron on December 26, 2014
More than 100 bar patrons swarmed a crime scene and some may have thrown bottles early Friday after a Texas City police officer shot and killed an armed man. The officer arrived at H.T.’s Lounge in Texas City after police received a call about 1:20 a.m. from the bar manager asking for help, police spokesman Cpt. Joe Stanton said. As he arrived, the officer saw a man firing a handgun at patrons leaving through the front door of the bar, Stanton said. The man pointed his gun at the officer, who killed him by firing several shots. Two other officers arrived shortly after the first and they called for assistance. Officers from Galveston, La Marque and the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office arrived to control a crowd that had swelled to more than 100, police said….
Credit to the officer for handling a dangerous situation, and eliminating the threat. When a man has a gun and is shooting at people, and then points the gun at you, there’s really not much else you can do. Extra credit for getting a thug off the streets permanently.
