By Darlene VannEDGEWATER, Fla. -- The news is awash these days with the story of the murder trial of Russell Charles Bradshaw who was found guilty of killing Lisa Memro.
It was a heinous crime, no doubt.
What bothers me most about this entire incident is that this young man went to the Edgewater Police Department to turn in himself in and no one was there.
The place was locked up tighter than a drum so he used his cell phone to call 911 and tell them he was waiting to be arrested. And wait he did. The police officer for that area arrived and took him into custody.
Had he decided he didn’t want to wait he would be at large right now and perhaps killing again. Not many murderers stand by the closed police station and wait to be arrested.
We, the citizens of Edgewater, lucked out with this one, but how many do you think we might have missed for other crimes?
How many maybe felt a pang of guilt and decided to surrender themselves only to find no one to surrender to so they moved on? Their crimes were discovered much later and police had no idea who the perpetrator was and maybe still don’t.
I know funds are tight, that’s always the excuse, but I think the Edgewater police station should be manned at all times. If you were being chased, the powers that be tell you go to the nearest police station to be safe.Well, not in Edgewater after 4:30 p.m. you wouldn’t.
I know funds are tight, that’s always the excuse, but I think the Edgewater police station should be manned at all times. If you were being chased, the powers that be tell you go to the nearest police station to be safe.Well, not in Edgewater after 4:30 p.m. you wouldn’t.
Everyone has gone home or is out cruising the their area in their police cars. If you go to the police station when it is open with a complaint they send you home and send an officer to your house to take your statement. Now, in my opinion, said officer should be in his police car policing his area -- not pulled off the road to do something an officer in residence at the station could have handled.
What do you think Edgewater? Do you approve of the way the police station is run? Do you feel safe with the current system?
Picture that young man who just allegedly killed someone standing and waiting to be arrested. If you agree, you should make your feelings known to the Edgewater City Council, Edgewater Police Department and anyone else who will listen and perhaps rectify the situation.