As Syracuse Police Chief Gary Miguel anticipates his retirement at the end of the year I can say my experience with his department has always been A ++. I’ve never been on the wrong side of the law so you’d think I’d have no experience at all with police, but when you live in a medium-sized city for almost 28 years you’re bound to encounter a face to face contact with the men and women in blue at some point.
From out of the woods came a menace in disguise
Years ago, during all the hype about child abductions, I had a creepy incident behind my back yard. My young boys were playing basketball at the end of my driveway when out of the woods came a middle-aged man inquiring about a lost puppy. Did they see a dog wandering around lost, he asked Harry and Charlie who were then about 9 and 11 years old, and when they said no he watched them shoot hoops for a minute before disappearing into the woods again.
I knew nothing about this until later that week when the religious education teacher at St. Therese Church on Lancaster Avenue cautioned the children against walking home after class as usual because a registered sex offender had moved to our neighborhood. The children called me from the church phone to come and get them.
Once at home I reminded the kids never to talk to grownups they didn’t know, and that’s when they told me about the guy looking for his puppy. My blood ran cold. The lost puppy story was a well-known trick that sex offenders use to lure children away. I told them adults never need a child’s help with anything. If it ever happened in the future they should ignore that they were raised to be helpful and run in the opposite direction.
Enter the Syracuse Police. I don’t recall the name of the Investigators but they arrived immediately to find out more. Charlie couldn’t recall a description of the man in the woods but Harry thought he could. Over the next few days they brought sketches to Harry to see if any of them looked like the puppyless stranger. On a page of a six sketched head shots Harry went right to the suspect. But then he hesitated and said “maybe it’s this one instead” . That moment of ambiguity sunk any hope police could pick up the man for violating his parole.
I sensed their frustration. They really wanted to help us. And I really wanted to help the neighborhood by putting this guy away again so he couldn’t come near other children as he came near mine. We were lucky that day that my innocent little animal lovers didn’t offer to walk into those vast woods to look for a puppy that didn’t exist.
Knowing the police department did everything it could, I approached the water department that owns the land behind my house and asked for permission to clear a buffer zone so I could plant grass and see what was going on back there. They were most understanding and gave me the green light. To this day people come and go on the trails behind my house but they stay a comfortable distance away from my yard. I do hear the teenaged “field parties” that occur on warm nights in the fall and spring, but the only threat to come from those woods for years now are the deer who decimate my flowers and shrubs.
It’s the big crimes that get our attention; the murders, the rapes, the occasional mugging, but police do the majority of their work in small doses. One by one they answer our calls for help, they are gracious about apologies for bothering them for “such a little thing” and they chip away at the problems.
Chief Miguel you have earned your time fishing or golfing or whatever it is you intend to do beginning in 2010. This citizen in particular thinks your police department is the very best.
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From Subscriber Ernie Decaro:
Maureen,
My son is a police detective in the city, his mother was really anxious all the years he was a patrolman especially when he was assigned to the south side. Needless to say my esteem of the police is very high and Chief Miguel. with whom I am on a first name basis, is in every way the best of the best.
Peace
Ernie DeCaro
Maureen: Ernie you must be very proud of your son!
Maureen, I don’t live in the city but have spent a lot of time in the Strathmore area from 1993 until 2006. I have the most respect for Chief Miguel. He is always so upbeat and positive in his reports, even when you know he is dealing with very serious situations. I wish him the best of luck and health in his retirement. I’m sure there is a special role waiting for him somewhere. C.