Tuesday, March 20, 2012

"GOOD SAMARITAN" ARRESTED!

“Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37)

Those verses come from the end of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan; possibly Jesus’ most famous parable. Jesus told His followers to CARE about others- even those from different racial or ethnic groups and even those from different religious groups. We are to GET INVOLVED and TAKE RISKS for the sake of others. I was first taught the Parable of the Good Samaritan by a Catholic “Sister of St. Joseph” in C.C.D. class (Catholic religious ed.) when I was in the third or fourth grade. It made quite an impression on me and I’ve never forgotten it. It teaches the exact opposite of what the Federal and State “powers that be” teach us to do. They essentially say, “DON’T get involved! Call 911. Trust the police and others to take care of it!”. Many of you know my father was “career law enforcement” having retired as a Registry of Motor Vehicles Supervisor in 1982 after a distinguished career as a police officer, Registry Inspector, and Registry Official. Yet, I’m sure my Dad would DISAGREE with what current political leaders such as Martha Coakley tell us to do.

Yesterday, Michael Graham presented a very disturbing story on his afternoon drive talk show on BostonTalks 96.9. It’s the story of Rodney Peterson, a married middle-aged father from the Chicago area. On March 2 as Rodney was pumping gas at a Shell station he noticed two teenage girls walking along in the raging snowstorm. They were not properly dressed for the weather at all, and did not even have an umbrella. He was amazed that they were out in such harsh weather without proper gear and thought someone ought to offer them a ride. After he drove off, he came upon them walking along. Rodney, stopped, rolled down his window, and offered them a ride. They were nervous, and declined the ride. Rodney thought that was that. Several days later he was ARRESTED for DISTURBING THE PEACE...for “scaring” these young girls. He is facing a $750 fine, and lots of negative publicity. It’s been devastating for Rodney and his family, and Rodney was just trying to be, yes, a “Good Samaritan”.

Michael’s broadcast made me think of two stories from my own life:


The first comes from the late Summer of 1995. The elderly mother of a family from Canton that I casually knew passed away. "Linda" whose Mom had died called me and asked if I would do the memorial service at Knollwood Memorial Park chapel in Canton. I did. After the service, she said, "Bob, please come over to my house and join us for some refreshments." I agreed to.

What I did NOT know is that about three years earlier, Linda’s family had moved from their small Cape Cod style home in a working class neighborhood just off Canton Center to a new home in an affluent subdivision in another part of Canton. I pulled up at Linda's old home in my navy blue Olds station wagon wearing my black suit. I waited and waited and waited. I could not understand why no one was showing up. There were some kids around age 10 or 11, playing in the street. I rolled down the window and asked (using Linda’s last name) if that family still lived there. The kids just glared at me like I was some kind of monster. After awhile, I just drove away.

Three weeks later, I got a phone call at home in Framingham from a CANTON POLICE DETECTIVE! At the time, my elderly parents lived in Canton. My Dad had Alzheimer's Disease, and my mother took care of him. I could tell many horrible stories about what a difficult time that was. I was so worried about my parents. When the detective’s call came, I wondered if there had been a murder/suicide...if maybe my mom had snapped, shot my Dad and killed herself, or something like that. My heart just about STOPPED! Instead, I was told that my car was observed in Canton on such and such a date with the driver parked and acting in a suspicious manner. THANKFULLY the cop believed my story and that was that, but it SHOCKED me that I could have been hauled in, fingerprinted, and my reputation ruined!

The other story of mine is really about my daughter, Amy, a nurse in Springfield, Missouri. As a nurse she has to go to work at the medical center no matter what the weather. There was a bad snowstorm, and a city like Springfield, Missouri just doesn’t really know how to handle snow! Amy was driving her small Subaru on a major highway and the car spun out and landed in the (snow covered) median area. A few minutes later, a truck pulled up and three young burly macho guys got out. "Need help??!!" they asked, and the next thing you knew they had her car out of the snow and on the way. Thank God they did not believe in the Martha Coakley way of doing things...well this WAS Missouri, not Massachusetts!

The whole way we as Americans in 2012 are being taught to think, act, and function is frankly upside down in comparison of how Americans of fifty or sixty years ago thought, acted, and functioned. Dangerous criminals who have “rights” roam about wreaking havoc while a guy like Rodney Peterson is arrested for offering a couple of teenage girls a ride in a snowstorm. What are we coming to?

8 comments:

jon TK said...

This all comes from the paranoid state we are told to live in. Frankly, I wouldn't have hopped into a strange guy's car either (I've rarely taken rides from FRIENDS in storms). And we teach these kids to never get in cars with strange people EVER. So on one hand, Rodney should be aware of this and know that it's going to sound suspicious. Even if he got them home safe, we know that their mom would have a fit about them getting in a car with a strange man. The only option is for them not to tell her (which recalls the subversive ending of The Cat in the Hat, where the reader is asked what he would say to his mother when she came home).

Still, having said that, no harm was done. The girls did what they thought was right for safety, and that's fine. But for police to get invovled means that someone had to have been watching, or they reported it when they got home. This I do not agree with because nobody DID anything. Even if he were theoretically some sort of pervert, nothing happened. We like to forget in this country that rights are extended to everyone, not to presumed "victims". How did the police get involved? Did the girls take his plate number?

I think it would have been smarter for him to have offered at the gas station to buy them an umbrella or something. Or if he had a phone with him, offer to call someone for them to pick them up.

It is wrong to assume that everyone out there is a predator. And this is coming from a "trust no one" sort of guy. I'm tired of good people being harassed by the state. For that matter, I"m against the sex offender registry too. If we really don't believe in rehabilitation in this country, we might as well just execute all of our criminals. If that seems reprehensible, than it's time to question our suspicions.

Remember when everyone was presumed innocent? Let's get back to that. Does it mean criminals walk the streets? Of course. But better that than good people being arrested and extorted for being neighborly. When people ask nostalgically "what happened to the old days?" THIS is the answer.

Amy said...

I was honestly really nervous to roll down my window for those men but I'm glad I did. Kevin was still quite a ways away and it would have been a while before he got to me. Sometimes you just have to trust.

Pete from Colo Spgs said...

Hello, Bob,
As usual, I enjoyed reading your post. Living here in Colorado, I wasn't sure who Martha Coakley is, so I read the Wikipedia entry on her. It didn't give me much of a clue as to why you have an animosity to her. Maybe that could be the topic of a future blog?

I really don't get why you think we are being told not to get involved by the "powers that be." I think we need to strike a balance between what we do for ourselves and each other, and what we recognize as the province of more knowledgeable people. If I'm collapsed on the roadside, for example, I'd far rather the person who helps me be a trained paramedic than someone who merely means well, but might make my situation worse rather than better. In any case, I don't think the government - federal, state or local - is telling us not to get involved. The very act of calling for emergency help is an act of involvement.

Anyway, thanks for your blog and God bless.

Pete from Colo Spgs said...

By the way, in the matter of the man who was arrested for offering teenage girls a ride, if the facts of the case are as stated I'm confident the charges will be dropped.

Pete from Colo Spgs said...

Update. I was wrong. The motorist pled guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined. Police said it wasn't snowing and the girls were not underdressed.

Bob Baril said...

Pete, Perhaps Michael Graham did not have his facts correct but as I understand it the local media outlets in Chicago agreed that it was snowing and the girls were underdressed. They were there in Chicago, of course we were not. Michael Graham DID report on his program that the guy pled guilty to disorderly conduct but felt that Rodney had "caved" under police pressure. Michael played an audio piece from the Michael's wife in tears in which he said her husband was just trying to do the right thing and that he was devastated at what had happened. Michael also played an audio piece from Rodney in which he stated he was only trying to help but "could understand the police department's point that he'd frightened the girls". Incidentally, Martha Coakley is the MA Atty. General. She has publicly stated that citizens should leave situations to the authorities and not get involved.

jon TK said...

The police claim it wasn't snowing and they weren't underdressed? How would they know? The arrested the guy three days later!

Probably the girls would say "no we weren't underdressed" because most teenage girls will think that way.

I want to know what the language in this "disorderly conduct" statute is that would allow for arresting AND convicting someone for driving by and asking a question. Does this mean everyone who asks me for directions can be arrested?

I totally agree that he probably buckled to pressure to get it over with and reduce his fine.

I do think the girls overreacted, but even if what they did was right, the police should not have arrested a guy who didn't do anything and had no record. I think they were trying to make an example of him.

FreeHolyMan said...

“Don’t accept a ride from a stranger---regardless!” MISSOURI State Highway Patrol brochure “Safety for Women”

My dad would have probably called Rodney Peterson a “creep” or worse. Peterson was cited for disturbing the peace and PLEAD GUILTY. What he is doing is a common PR tactic. He won’t actually go in front of a judge and actually defend himself UNDER OATH even for what should take as much time to settle as a traffic ticket, but instead puts forward a “public story.”

However, the police have said (in addition to saying “Don’t ride with strangers!”) that the investigating officers cited him after reviewing the complaint, interviewing him and REVIEWING THE VIDEOS (from the Shell AND Circle K?) Now do you see why public stories work so well? (Plead guilty? Videos?)

In addition to your seeming to condone 14 year olds girls riding with strangers is you have also drawn in Martha Coakly for some reason. She isn’t even part of this story, but you are laying out a classic “guilt by association.” And, what’s this Martha Coakly’s staccato voice crack about?

One more thought. A citizen is twice as likely to have a violent crime perpetrated against them in Missouri than in Massachusetts according to FBI statistics. Your biases as showing.

“Don’t accept a ride from a stranger---regardless!”