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Valor Awards for local police officers, firefighters
10/02/2007 5:06 PM by John M
In a ceremony today at the Richmond Convention Center, 2 of the 16 awards given out were the bronze Valor Awards for Officers Mervin Mayo and Gregory Nienow for saving five people and a dog from a burning house on North 29th Street in January of this year. [via]
On Thursday, September 28th,at approximately 6:00 p.m., six police cars chased another car (which had Guns) in it (according to Commander Leyden of the First Precinct) East on E. Franklin Street at speeds of almost 60 mph while a children’s party was going on at the Libby Hill Park House.
Keith West, Amanda Patterson and others were “horrified” to quote Amanda. East Franklin Street is a 25 mph zone as are other neighborhoods up here, but there are no speed limit signs from 29th Steet and E. Franklin down to E. Franklin and 25th Street.
When Commander Layden of the First Police Precinct was called and told of the incident he said he had the report on his desk and that they had chased the car 37 miles into Henrico County.Then, he said that he would see to it that signs posting the speed limit would be put up on East Franklin along with “Children playing” signs.
Major Buckevitich of the Richmond Police was also informed about the incident. He agreed the chase showed “poor judgement” to use his words.
Now the Richmond Police Department has installed (almost) a radar machine at the corner of 28th and E. Franklin which isn’t turned on.It has been there for 2 long days and has not been turned on. There will be virtually no speeding or heavy traffic on E. Franklin over the weekend.So the question is why was the blasted radar installed in the first place if it isn’t turned on???
Also, no signs have yet been installed on E. Franklin Street.
Lucille Motley
Congratulations to the award recipients and thank you to all of our uniformed men and women who hit the streets every day in order to protect and serve us.
Please folks! Would you rather the police not respond to incidents such as this? Aggressive law enforcement is just what is needed to control the “thug” population that roams the streets up here. I, for one, am delighted that the police are willing to “crack some heads”. Police officers are trained to drive aggressively yet safely. They are doing a great job and should be congratulated for a fine performance instead of bashing their efforts to control criminal activity in YOUR neighborhood.
I agree William. It’s good to have the police there for us. However, when there are more than 8 children of early ages, vunerable children, at a party within
a short distance of 6 police cars, no matter what you call it, a high speed chase is not sensible.
I support the police. I remember Mongo and John Henry Taylor with great fondess. However, common sense were lacking last Thursday a week ago. No matter who you are or what you do, if you do not think before you act, you accomplish little.
These men have been highly trained to deal constructively with crininals. They have not been “bashed”. All I and several parents want is for them to think before they act.
Lu Motley
Lu, I’ve tried to ignore this since you posted it yesterday but it’s still bugging me. Were the kids playing in the middle of the street? Obviously not, you state they were at the park house, which is IN THE PARK. The police would have had to drive into the park to cause harm. They were chasing a car that you state had guns in it- I agree with William, they are doing a great job.
As to your radar sign, I was told by a friend on the phone earlier today that it was working, right there in front of your place at 28th and Franklin, so lay off the complaints, please! Those who live on Marshall Street ROUTINELY put up with traffic going anywhere from 35 to 50 miles per hour – including city buses, which don’t adhere to the 25 mph speed limit. If you’ve got a radar sign to remind people to slow down over there, please don’t complain about the fact that it took two days to start working! At least you’ve GOT it!
Celeste, I reported just the facts. Any time 1 police car goes in excess of
55 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone, near where kids are having a party, the potential for danger is incredible. There were 6 police cars with sirens blasting,and going in excess of 55 miles per hr. Also, if you troubled yourself to read my first note you find that Major Bukevitch, a police officer agreed the action the action was foolhardy.
I once had a wonderful professor, Jerry Reagan, from Ohio State tell me that only a fool will argue with facts. I stated just the facts mam.
Lu
This post was about officers, YOUR officers, risking their lives doing something you would never do. I don’t know if anyone out there has ever, on purpose gone back into a burning building. Does anyone think this post was the proper forum to talk about this. Also, if you are going to use someone’s name in a post please spell it right. It’s Ladin and Buckovich. Good day.
And Lu, I continue. While I cannot speak to the radar (?) I know that Commander Ladin (I spelled it right) does not have those signs at the precinct and can only request that the sign shop evaluate the area and put the sign up.
Lu, are your eyeballs calibrated? that would be the only way to know how fast they were going or did they go by the non-working radar?
OK Lu, you made your point. What would you suggest the police should have done in the situation you outlined. Would it have been preferable to let them get away? It appears that the police took a measured risk (and nothing happened) to apprehend a group that possibly broke the law. These folks are trained to do this on a moment by moment basis. Let’s face it, we all live close to the streets in Church Hill. I would still prefer that the police take aggessive measures to combat crime. It works in many cities bigger and “badder” than Richmond, VA.
I’m sorry but I do believe you were “bashing” the actions of these officers when you are calling to complain about them to their supervisor. I would not take comfort in the fact that you mentioned Major Bukevitch appeased you by “agreeing” that their actions were “foolhardy”.
I would probably do the same thing if I had somebody complaining on the other end of the phone. Appease them to make them hang up and let us get back to the business we do. Let’s get the gun-toting thugs off of the street so children are not harmed by the folks who truly have no social conscience.
Please…no more signs in the area. They accomplish little else than to detract from the area. It is understood by everybody that the proper speed for a citizen to travel in our neighborhood is 25 mph. Emergency services will measure the risk when choosing to speed.
Apologies to any misspellings in a prior post.
William, I happen to be friends with Lu, but in this case I totally agree with you. I have no idea how they could have known how fast the cops were driving – the radar sign wasn’t even up. It might have APPEARED that the cops were going over 55 mph but there’s no way of knowing that. I just hope the cops caught the guys in the car they were chasing. Thanks for saying what I have been thinking for the past couple of hours prior to checking this posting.
I at first ignored Lu’s posting when I posted my comments because I also did not think that this was the forum to complain about the police. The posting was to congratulate and recognize those officers that go above and beyond their call of duty. I must say, though, that anyone who dons a bulletproof vest and carries a gun to go to work is deserving of our appreciation and support. Police officers are human and mistakes will be made but please – let’s give some credit where it is due and save the police bashing for another forum. And to those who have posted in support of our men and women in blue – thank you.
O.K. Folks. Your chance is coming!Celeste, William, Karen and Elliot,you are invited to attend the next Church Hill Association Meeting where those who would like to show support for the 6 racing police cars, as well as those who stood by and watched it happen will be there with Commander Ledin and Major Bukevitch. I’m sure they will all appreciate your support.
See you there with others who were actually witnesses to what really happened.
L. Motley
Lu, are you really that dumb!? I spelled the names correctly for you and again you screw it up. If you insist on using names, again……spell them right. It may seem like such a small thing but if you keep getting that wrong, even after being corrected, how can anyone think you are getting the facts correct? I think I make a good point. And I did witness it. I was in it. The officers acted justly. You cannot let these thugs run amuck of the city!
Celeste made an excellent point….the officers would have had to driven into the park to hit the kids. And remember, if you are playing in the street you are in violation of Virginia Code Section 46.2-928: Unauthorized Use of the Highway by a Pedestrian. Sleep well good people, OUR police department is on the job!
“In a ceremony today at the Richmond Convention Center, 2 of the 16 awards given out were the bronze Valor Awards for Officers Mervin Mayo and Gregory Nienow for saving five people and a dog from a burning house on North 29th Street in January of this year.”
That was the point of this posting, not high speed police chases, which have been an issue for ALL the jurisdictions around here for awhile, including the counties, not just the little community around Libby Hill Park.
Furthermore, if I were trying to invite people to attend a CHA meeting, I’d act a little more inviting and a lot less combative, AND I’d include the DATE AND TIME of said meeting. And, I’d try to spell the officers names correctly.
While I’m at it – thank you to Officers Mayo and Nienow for what they did in January – saving five people AND a dog from a burning building!
Thanks, Elliot – sorry, we crossed in posting. I hope the cops not only caught the people but that they got a good case out of it, particularly about the guns.
Hmm. As an alternative … maybe we should have a police helicopter hovering in the air at all times, ready to tell the cops alternative routes of where to chase alleged criminals, so the cops don’t get near a park where children might be ready to dart into traffic in spite of sirens and flashing lights.
Residents might complain about the noise of the hovering helicopter, up there at all hours of day and night, though…..
And members of Richmond’s thin blue line caught another bad guy just a few short days ago. He fled in a car (which crashed into a tree stump in my back yard) after taking down the street sign at the corner of Tulip and Burton Streets. The driver fled on foot after the crash and was apprehended on a neighbor’s back porch. Congratulations to our fine officers and thanks for all you do for us! Stay safe…