So here are the names of all the officers we think need to be thanked. We will be filing a commendation report with the city next week. We really cannot express enough gratitude to these men. If I have any details wrong, it's because the whole incident was pretty blurry and happened at breakneck speed--and because I kept forgetting to ask names at various points along the way.
Officer Rilling who helped us over the phone and got the ball rolling on all this.
Officer Scott who visited Brendan at the hospital.
Detective Christianson(sp?) who is responsible for getting the confession and doing all the other things he's done/is doing.
Officer Lee, the transit officer who made the arrest of the perpetrator.
And one huge thanks to the one guy whose name I never got, the bus driver who helped Brendan get home and took time out of his day to help us in other ways. This man is a truly good guy and I feel like a toad for not getting his name and number because I really want to write a letter to Tri-Met about him. I'll get it.
Also, thanks to the Assistant D.A., Christine Mascal, for making this matter come to pass in a quick and timely fashion. Swift justice is my favorite kind and to be honest I think Brendan, being involved first-hand in the process, learned a lesson not many kids get to (have to) learn. I think he understands how extremely lucky we got on this, but he also found out that the system can work, does work, even if it's far from perfect.
We met with the grand jury today and Brendan gave his testimony along with all the other witnesses. They do have a confession so it might not have to go to trial. If it does, Brendan says he's ready to roll...but let's hope it never gets that far.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Portland's Finest--possibly the finest in the world
So, Sunday at around 4:30 pm my 15 year old step-son Brendan comes strolling in the house. I say "hi". He didn't reply. He'd been down at his girlfriend's house and I figured they got in an argument and I was getting the angst-riddled radioactive residue from the fallout. I was wrong.
"...just got mugged." he said in a mumble.
"Who just got mugged?"
"I..."
"What the f..."
I jumped out of my chair when I saw the gaping gash above his eye and the bloody rag he was using to dab out little pieces of dirt and rock.
Come to find out, he had gone down to the mall at Lloyd Center with his friend to drop off an application. I can't tell you how many times I've told them (all the kids, my kids, your kids, everyone's kids) to STAY AWAY FROM LLOYD CENTER and especially STAY AWAY FROM THE MAX STATIONS!!! Some young hip-hop hoodlums, gangbangers or just random punks beat him up for his cell phone and iPod. *Angry.* He had taken the bus all the way back from Lloyd Center to our house because he was debating whether he was going to tell us about the whole affair. Apparently, he was afraid of being grounded for being somewhere he wasn't supposed to be... Kids...logic...does not compute...
I don't get this world. Now's when grandma comes in and says "And this used to be such a nice city..."
But get this:
I, of course, immediately called the police, and after the usual wrangling around for a body that actually cared that a measure 11 crime had just been committed against my son, got a very competent officer on the case. Within a matter of FOUR HOURS, the police had not only detained the specific individual who had physically assaulted my son, they had a full confession. What the f... Nah. Really? Yep.
Apparently these kids had got on a bus or the MAX and did this to yet another victim and this time they got caught, possibly in the act, I'm not sure on all the details as of yet. The last I heard, the police had 2 of the possibly 5 assailants in custody.
I thought I would share this for a couple reasons. One being that we are always hearing about crimes being commited and nothing being done about it/cops being apathetic, unresponsive, etc. Maybe I thought a success story would help our societal morale...I hope it does. Secondly, I have to hand it to the detectives who interviewed the bad guys, the officer who came to the hospital to talk to Brendan, the dispatch officer (big cheer for this fellow), the bus driver who helped Brendan get home, the Transit cops, and everyone else involved. (I won't use their names until they say I can, but they deserve medals, commendations and raises--I'm not kidding)
We won't know how far this will go until later on. I'll try to update this as it all comes together.
By the way, Brendan is just fine. Three stitches, a bruised ego and yeah, of course, he's grounded. Heh.
"...just got mugged." he said in a mumble.
"Who just got mugged?"
"I..."
"What the f..."
I jumped out of my chair when I saw the gaping gash above his eye and the bloody rag he was using to dab out little pieces of dirt and rock.
Come to find out, he had gone down to the mall at Lloyd Center with his friend to drop off an application. I can't tell you how many times I've told them (all the kids, my kids, your kids, everyone's kids) to STAY AWAY FROM LLOYD CENTER and especially STAY AWAY FROM THE MAX STATIONS!!! Some young hip-hop hoodlums, gangbangers or just random punks beat him up for his cell phone and iPod. *Angry.* He had taken the bus all the way back from Lloyd Center to our house because he was debating whether he was going to tell us about the whole affair. Apparently, he was afraid of being grounded for being somewhere he wasn't supposed to be... Kids...logic...does not compute...
I don't get this world. Now's when grandma comes in and says "And this used to be such a nice city..."
But get this:
I, of course, immediately called the police, and after the usual wrangling around for a body that actually cared that a measure 11 crime had just been committed against my son, got a very competent officer on the case. Within a matter of FOUR HOURS, the police had not only detained the specific individual who had physically assaulted my son, they had a full confession. What the f... Nah. Really? Yep.
Apparently these kids had got on a bus or the MAX and did this to yet another victim and this time they got caught, possibly in the act, I'm not sure on all the details as of yet. The last I heard, the police had 2 of the possibly 5 assailants in custody.
I thought I would share this for a couple reasons. One being that we are always hearing about crimes being commited and nothing being done about it/cops being apathetic, unresponsive, etc. Maybe I thought a success story would help our societal morale...I hope it does. Secondly, I have to hand it to the detectives who interviewed the bad guys, the officer who came to the hospital to talk to Brendan, the dispatch officer (big cheer for this fellow), the bus driver who helped Brendan get home, the Transit cops, and everyone else involved. (I won't use their names until they say I can, but they deserve medals, commendations and raises--I'm not kidding)
We won't know how far this will go until later on. I'll try to update this as it all comes together.
By the way, Brendan is just fine. Three stitches, a bruised ego and yeah, of course, he's grounded. Heh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)