Would you intervene in a potential criminal situation?
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A Cedar Rapids resident on a late-night iced tea run for his pregnant fiancée helped end a chase between a man and Cedar Rapids police last weekend by tackling the man to the ground.
Officers were in the area of First Avenue NE and 17th Street SE around 11 p.m. Saturday night when they saw a man run across First Avenue wearing a short-sleeve shirt, pajama bottoms and tennis shoes. Concerned for his safety because it was about 20 degrees outside, they tried to stop the man, but the man kept running when they yelled at him to stop.
Martin Ennor, 27, was about a block away, on his way to a convenience store to pick up iced tea for his 8-months pregnant fiancée, when he said he saw police chasing a man and yelling “stop.” Ennor said he got out of his car, tackled the man and held him down until the police caught up.
Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said Ennor was in the right place at the right time. “The officers were chasing him and hadn’t lost sight of him or anything, but this guy (Ennor) was closer,” Hamblin said.
Hamblin said citizens don’t often assist with arrests. “We don’t encourage people to do this, because we don’t know what the outcome will be, or what the individual may have. It’s a judgment call,” Hamblin said. “It’s always appreciated, but not always advisable.”
Would you do what Ennor did? Or do you think it’s best to let police handle situations like this?
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This is a very general question that does not have a specific answer. Due to my age and physical condition I would not attempt what Ennor did. That is probably true of many people. On the other hand, I have called 911 when following a car that was obviously being driven by a drunk driver. The only accurate answer to this question begins with “It depends.”
The public must get involved if it expects to reduce crime rates. Knowing Mr. Ennor, it is no surprise he acted and controlled the amount of action taken.
When law enforcement has requested, I step up and help in order to facilitate apprehension and conviction of criminals. You can’t complain about crime if you hide when it is time to do the right thing and get involved.
“Intervine” relative to crime is a very broad term. Generally speaking I would not aid or intervine to prevent crime unless directly effected. The process has proven to me to be nothing but big trouble.
There are a number of ways to intervene. In most cases I would intervene by calling the police. If someone was in some kind of danger, I would do what I could to help. If someone was running from the police, the most I would do is stick my foot out to trip them.
Maybe. Some people seem to have a gift of cold-encountering an unfolding situation and being able to quickly size things up and react appropriately. I’m not one of them, and I suspect that I am far from being in the minority on this count.