What turned out to be a misunderstanding on Thursday nonetheless has resulted in a local mom wanting to issue a public word of thanks, and the incident, though not what was feared, also is a good reminder of safety rules for kids.
Yesterday afternoon as my 10-year-old son was walking home from an after-school activity, he had an encounter at 42nd & Dakota with a stranger that “gave him a weird feeling.” He started running home and a passerby in a car asked him if that stranger was bothering him. He said yes and the driver called 911. My son was just about 8 houses from home. The police knocked on our door about an hour after the incident. They said the caller didn’t have our address but did give them the location and a description of the house, so the officer was able to follow up with us. They did locate the stranger and asked him about the incident. He told them he was just asking my son if he wanted to play catch. The officer praised my son for knowing not to talk to strangers and gave us the case number for the incident.
The mom wanted to thank the person who called 911, which enabled police to respond and investigate quickly: “We are so grateful this person was passing by when they did and that they took action, and we want to express our gratitude.” According to the police report, which we subsequently obtained, there was NO indication a crime was committed, and the man had no record – the man told them he had been walking back to his car from a nearby bank, when he saw the boy walk by holding a ball, and he asked the boy to kick the ball toward him. The police report says officers later found out the boy didn’t hear what the man said to him because he was wearing an earbud/earpiece. He headed home while the passerby was still talking with the man, who subsequently headed in a different direction; police caught up with him about a mile away. Though this incident turned out not to be what the passerby feared, it’s still a reminder to make sure your kids know how to stay safe; here’s advice from SPD.
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