ChristyWood:
Since Tim follows this story I think it is important for him to know that neither the Police Department or me has criticized him in any way nor do we disregard his heroic efforts that day. I am posting the original email I recieved from the reporter, and my response in order to assure him we do appreciate the action he took that very likely prevented serious injury to the victim. My comments to the reporter were about the general safety of citizens getting involved, and never focused on Tim. The Police Department is in process of pullling together a public presentation to honor his bravery. Here is the original email:
Hi Christie
I was talking to a man named Tim Patterson today, who works in the yellow mobile kitchen outside Goodwill. He said he helped stop the robbery attempt when he came out and pointed a gun at the suspect, who then dropped the knife and ran, Tim said. He said he stood there and waited for police to show up.
I'm wondering if you could comment on Tim's actions. Do police have any recommendations they make to people when trying to intervene in such incidents? Is he considered a hero?
Also, Tim was surprised he wasn't mentioned in our story today. I said his name wasn't in the press release. Diane Galloway from Goodwill did tell me that Tim came out of this stand and yelled, too, but didn't mention he had a gun. Just for my information, not for a story, was there a reason Tim was not mentioned?
thanks again for your help
Bill
Hi Bill,
The report was not written, and I had no knowledge of Tim when I wrote the release. I was more focused on getting the suspect info out so the media could spread it to our citizens. Officers were still on scene investigating while I was busy typing.
We have recognized people in the past for their actions. One that comes to mind is the coffee stand girl that pulled her own gun from behind the counter and thwarted the robbery attempt.
It is a fine line for us to give advice to citizens about getting involved. Some people are more qualified than others to be of assistance. This suspect was armed with a knife for sure but he made threats about having a gun. Individuals need to assess the situation for themselves and make a determination about their own safety before acting. I would not want to live in a world without good Samaritans or people that were willing to take a risk to help others but the police department cannot advocate for that. We would not want to set somebody up to get seriously injured. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks.
Christie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Buley, Bill [mailto:
[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 2:12 PM
To: WOOD, CHRISTIE
Subject: goodwill robbery
Hi Christie
I was talking to a man named Tim Patterson today, who works in the yellow mobile kitchen outside Goodwill. He said he helped stop the robbery attempt when he came out and pointed a gun at the suspect, who then dropped the knife and ran, Tim said. He said he stood there and waited for police to show up.
I'm wondering if you could comment on Tim's actions. Do police have any recommendations they make to people when trying to intervene in such incidents? Is he considered a hero?
Also, Tim was surprised he wasn't mentioned in our story today. I said his name wasn't in the press release. Diane Galloway from Goodwill did tell me that Tim came out of this stand and yelled, too, but didn't mention he had a gun. Just for my information, not for a story, was there a reason Tim was not mentioned?
thanks again for your help
bill