By Larry Davenport
Anderson resident
A week ago, an incident took place in my business in downtown Anderson. I felt like it should have been reported. It’s not the incident that was so important, but the way it was handled. I was working with one of my students when a Madison County police officer walked in and politely introduced himself. He asked me if I knew a particular individual. I said no, not to my recollection.
The officer explained that this person was on his way to see me, and could be here at almost anytime. He went on to say that this man had severe mental problems, so he was going to leave and try to apprehend him before he could actually get here.
“However,” he continued. “If he does come here, would you please call 911 and try to talk to him until we can get here.”
I told him that I would do the best that I possibly could to help out. The officer was right, the man in question was soon to arrive. He walked through the door and greeted me like an old friend. I reciprocated. The middle-aged, rugged looking man looked at me and said,
“I really didn’t do it.” Before I could say anything, he repeated it again. “I really didn’t do it.” I smiled at him and answered, “Well, I never really thought you did.”
I asked him to sit down for a minute because I had something to do in my office. My student talked to him while I called 911 and explained the situation to the dispatcher.
I invited him into my office and we had a very interesting conversation for the next 10 minutes. He seemed to be very comfortable as we discussed the things that he wanted to talk about. There was one point where he began to get emotional, not violent, but very emotional. It was concerning the death of someone that we both knew. A diversion was needed.
I simply asked, “Didn’t you say that you were in the National Guard?”
He immediately responded to that and our conversation was back on track.
Soon after that, two county officers and an Anderson city policeman came to the door. There was nothing threatening about their approach. They were very professional as well as being polite and sensitive to the situation. The county officer asked him if he was all right and if he would please step into the hallway so they could talk to him. He complied without hesitation.
The officers were extremely effective during the search and handcuffing procedure. They explained everything that they were going to do while they were doing it. After they were done, they told him that he would have to go to the hospital and everything would be just fine. No voices were raised, nothing was forced, and everything went as well as it possibly could have gone. We said our goodbyes and the subject left the premises with no problem at all. I was impressed. I would like to thank and commend the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and the Anderson Police Department for the excellent job that they did and the professionalism that they displayed.
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