(The following letter to the editor appeared on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on August 6.)
PHILADELPHIA –Heroic actions taken by brave police officers occur every day, but here’s one that deserves special mention.
I boarded a SEPTA train at Amtrak’s 30th Street Station bound for the airport, where I discovered that my wallet was missing. Not able to get a boarding pass without my driver’s license, I was sent to the Philadelphia Police Airport Unit. The detective there was writing up a report when I received a call on my cell phone from the Amtrak police, who said a kind woman had seen my wallet being lifted from my purse and alerted a nearby officer. Thanks to speedy action and an accurate description of the bicycle, officers spotted the suspect, chased him on bicycle to a subway stop, pursued him down the steps and onto the tracks while nimbly avoiding the third rail. There they handcuffed him and retrieved my wallet.
Returning to 30th Street Station, I found a cadre of officers who insisted this was “all in a day’s work.” They had been working 12-hour shifts, on special alert since the London bombings. Thanks to the increased security, my credit cards, cash, and my sacred identity were returned to me intact. And my flight had been cancelled anyway, so I got to spend a night in a comfortable hotel in your fair city.
The Philadelphia and Amtrak officers deserve special commendation.
Brotherly/sisterly love and stellar police: a winning combination.
Judith G. Ribble
Santa Fe, N.M.