Roxanne: What Makes Our Community Better?

It was the beginning of October, and a 17-year-old teenager was hiding by a chain link fence. He had just stolen a purse from a nearby house, and a neighbor had called the police. An officer by the name of Elton Hymon had arrived and was trying to arrest the kid, whose name was Edward Garner. Garner began to climb the 6-foot fence, and Officer Hymon,

In the 1980s, New York was considered one of the most dangerous major cities in the United States. Crime was on an ultimate high, especially in Brooklyn, New York. The documentary, “The Seven-Five” directed by Tiller Russell, focuses on a police officer named Michael Dowd who worked in the 75th precinct. The 75th precinct was known for being the most dangerous area with the most crime. However, not only were individuals within the community committing crimes. Dowd, who’s been on the job for two years, went from being a good cop that followed all protocols to a corrupt cop that went down the path of crime. This documentary goes into details on Dowd’s crime streak, how he got caught, the case against him, and the testimonies of his partners in the police station. This case was considered a “major corruption scandal in New York City in the 1980s” (Michael Dowd, 2015).

Curious, I looked up at the building and suddenly my heart stopped. My muscles contracted and my nerves sent a violent quake through my body. I didn’t notice the dropped cigarette that was burning a hole in my pants. Finally, the pain bit me. I grabbed the cigarette, throwing it out the window while almost swerving off the road. After regaining control, I closed my eyes and reopened them to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating; I wasn‘t. Ten police cars sat in front of the school, all in a perfect line with their drivers standing close-by. I contemplated driving off but it was too late. We had already been spotted.

June 19, 1975, began a killing spree in Colorado Springs when a soldier from Ft.Carson and his friend who worked on base shot a cook in the head. He only had fifty cents. The next week they stabbed a Fort Carson soldier with a bayonet. On July 1, 1975, they killed Kelsey Grammer’s sister. After raping her, they stabbed her throat and left her out in a trailer park to die. That night they went to Fort Carson and called a cab from a club. That pick up would be Dad’s last. Knowing he was in trouble, Dad called dispatch to ask the distance and the fare to Butts Field, a strange request for a seasoned cabbie on such a small military base. All the fares were thirty five cents except the one to their airport. One of the guys grabbed my dad and slashed his throat from ear to ear, leaving him for dead on the side of the road. They drove the cab through the housing area, across one of its inhabitants front lawns. He had driven a taxi in New York and had his money taken before, but never harmed. Mom laughed hysterically when she told me that even with witnesses, their attorney argued it was too dark to adequately identify them.The local police investigated Karen’s murder, but my dad’s killing had taken place on a military base, putting the federal agents in charge. The murderers were given the death sentence for Karen and the other murders, so the feds decided not to investigate my dad’s case.

On Tuesday, September 29, 2015, I, Officer B. McMillon, #135, of the Mansfield ISD Police Department was on assignment at Legacy High School located at 1263 N. Main in Mansfield, Texas 76063. While leaving the 2nd floor AP’s office, I observed Smith, Taylor W/F, D.O.B. 09101999 slap Wells, Sydney W/F, D.O.B 08291999 in her face and they begin to engage in a physical altercation.

“Why does the mailbox have to be so far?” Zuri thinks to herself as she turns the corner of North Broadview Avenue and Red Wood Road. As she rounds the corner she looks up only in time to see a white Lincoln town car barreling towards her and barely manages to jump backwards as it screeches to a stop right where she had been standing a few second ago. A tall, young black man hops out of the car and walks over to Zuri asking “Are you all right?” as he reaches out his hand to help her up. “Yeah I think so.” She replies as she gets up and dust herself off and looks around for her keys. “What you looking for?” the young man asks. “My keys I lost them when I jumped out of the way” she tells the young man as she continues to search for the keys.

K-9 officer told Mr. Solomon to stop and he continues to run. Mr. Solomon heard the officer say he was going to release the dog and Mr. Solomon gave up. Mr. Solomon was then taken into police custody. When the victim came home, Detective Gibbs went into the home and found a black backpack at the top of the stairs. The victims stated that the backpack was not theirs. Detective Gibbs opened the backpack and the victim’s stolen laptop was inside and Daniel Solomon’s homework was also inside. Mr. Solomon and Mr. Powell were brought to 311 County Street and they both confessed to breaking the window and going inside of the home. They both blamed each other for taking items.”

On June 10, 2014, Tonya Simms was working the afternoon (?) shift at Giant, when her telephone rang. It was one of her neighbors, saying that police were searching her house in NE Washington. The 42-year-old woman left her workplace in Arlington, Virginia, and rushed back home. “I was so scared (they were terrifying the kids?),” said the mother of (?)

One cold evening in New York City, a woman named Jeannette is getting ready to go to a party. Worried that she is overdressed, Jeannette looks out the window of the taxi to find her mom rummaging through trash cans. Jeannette has not seen her mother in months, so she is taken back to see her mother getting no acknowledgements from anyone. Instead of getting out of the car, she panics that her mom will call her name out. Therefore, she decides to duck down and asks the taxi driver to take her back home. Once Jeannette arrives home the only thought that crosses her mind is her mother freezing on the streets of New York City. Also, she feels ashamed for hiding from her own mother. A few days later, Jeannette meets up with her mom for lunch. She

Johnny walked into the living room, his stomach feeling queasy. His parents look his way in dull manner. They didn’t want Johnny home. They like him out with his friends, not bothering them. Truth is, they felt as if they wouldn’t be good parents even if they tried, so they thought “Why try?” They also didn’t want Johnny to end up like them so, they pushed him away and acted like they couldn’t stand him. Little did they know they were just hurting Johnny by doing so. They had planned to kick Johnny out on this night. They thought he would end up better off with the Greasers. So, when Johnny walked in his mother said, “Go pack your stuff and get out my house.”

On 05/17/2016 at 1622 hours I was dispatched to Beach Club apartments, #F110. Located at 2350 S 8th Ave. Upon arrival Officer Daniels and I made contact with Tara PALACIO. PALACIO informed us that she had gone to DAY’S Apartment and had found a suicide letter on his door. The letter read, “The day family is gone. No son. My 3 little girls are gone and I am dead inside so what!? I got nothing and no where to go so I retire. Bang! ”

In 1991, Jaycee Dugard was an ordinary, happy eleven-year-old girl living in Lake Tahoe, California. On day, as she was walking to school, a strange vehicle pulled up beside her. Sensing something was wrong, the child began to move away from the suspicious van, but before she could get away she felt a rush of electricity through her body; she was shot by a stun gun. Unable to resist, Jaycee was dragged into the car, covered with a blanket, and driven to her kidnapper’s hidden backyard where she would be held captive for eighteen years.

Imagine being one of the best cops in the area and then because of one wrong move your career is put on the line. Lindsay Boxer almost lost her job because while she was trying to defend herself, she killed and paralyzed two children and was sedated by alcohol. At the beginning of this book, Lieutenant Lindsay was called to a hotel where a boy was electrocuted in a bathtub. Many investigators became very hopeful after they saw a black Mercedes outside the hotel. Lindsay was off duty later that night and went out for dinner. She drank one and a half margaritas before she got a call from Inspector Warren Jacobi. He told Lindsay that a black Mercedes was seen cruising around in area it did not seem to fit the neighborhood. This was Lindsay’s

While she was clearly intrigued by the story, as many would be, she wanted to accomplish so much more than just writing an interesting, page turning novel. With her lengthy research she was able to educate herself on the true events leading up to an innocent woman’s murder, as well as the disturbingly tangled web a Saskatchewan Police Officer wove himself. Since then, the novel has helped students in their Grade 12 curriculum and in writing the ELA30A Departmental. Each reader who picks up the book is sent back into the past with Simmie’s impeccable attention to detail, and are able to imagine a time that John Wilson hid behind a trusting badge in an attempt to hide an awful crime that he committed. The novel leaves an impression on the reader’s mind and one cannot help but question, how many more of these secrets lie hidden in the dark and when should we be expecting the

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members” (Coretta Scott King). A community consists of many individuals and how those individuals act, either alone or together, will determine whether the community will foster or die. Consequently, in order to be an effective individual in my own communities, I believe that being true to myself and really immersing myself is a powerful way to impact any community. For the most part, two of my communities are Providence College and Pasa Esek Hopkins. Reading about great leaders like MLK and Mother Teresa, who advocate for such strong love of neighbor and standing up for beliefs in the face of adversity, is at the focal point of my inspiration. I believe that believing in one’s self is how an individual can shine in their own community.