FUGITIVE: An odd and scary night

On July 31, a law-enforcement helicopter began flying over our neighborhood around 10:30 p.m., shining its spotlight on fields, woods and houses. It would light up several acres at a time or an entire room, by penetrating just one window. This continued until midnight. Deputies guarded their huddle of vehicles, perhaps recalling the embarrassing event of two or three years ago when a prisoner drove away in the sheriff’s Ford Escape, but they did shout warnings to the fugitive that they would soon release their canine unit. It seemed to all of us that they were dealing with a desperate and dangerous person. We armed ourselves and locked our doors. Then it all stopped and everyone apparently went home. Had the fugitive been captured, was he still lurking in the neighborhood or was this just a drill? There were no house checks, not even by phone and no searches of outbuildings were conducted.

Following this tense and restless night, the sheriff’s office was called the next morning in an attempt to gain some understanding of the situation we were in. We learned the fugitive had not been captured. The deputies and their helicopter and dogs had simply gone away. But we were told not to worry because the sheriff now knew who the fugitive was. Actually, we were more concerned about WHERE and WHAT he was than who he was. No more answers were provided. The privacy of the fugitive needed to be protected, you know. Apparently the concerns and safety of mere tax-paying, law-abiding citizens were of secondary concern.

Our worry dissipated over the next day and we were able to catch up on our sleep. We know the budget is tight and deputies have much to do that we simply cannot understand. However, we will offer a couple of modest suggestions.

Some simple communications can go a long way to quiet people’s concerns after such an encounter. Without some explanation, we wonder if the aerial and ground manhunt was actually justified or was just a gross over-reaction by law enforcement, a false alarm for the neighborhood and a waste of taxpayer funds. And in future situations like this, we wonder if a bit more funding might be justified to replace the apparent pug-corgi mix on the K9 Unit with German shepherds like those used by most other agencies. They seem to actually work.

JOHN McFADDIN

Cataldo