Last week my friend and my mom came for a visit. We did the usual things including taking in the sunset at Mallory Square, walking along the beach but when we were done with restaurants, Kino sandals, and orchids I thought it would be entertaining to bring her to the 801 Cabaret lounge to see a drag show. Okay so it may have been a stretch to bring my 80 year old mother to a late show but she she is cooped up in a retirement community – a nice place but you can only play so much Bingo . . . We were tired when we left the lounge – it was 1:30AM and we were walking toward the car when out of the blue my mom yelled Someone took my purse! and it took Sean & I a bit to react. I saw Sean tear after the guy with a full knapsack on his back through Heartbreak Alley over the wall and into the ‘hood in the dark. I was worried but impressed. I don’t know about you but I am often turned on by macho foolishness particularly when linked to hopeless causes. We must have made quite a vignette. Sean with his knapsack, me with silver heels (hard to compete with the drag queens) and my eighty-something year old mom pulling up the rear and completing the sorry trio. My friend Louise had the good sense to stay put, ready to call an ambulance in case we caught the guy (for us , not him). Anyhow, the guy disappeared over that wall, we called the cops and they arrived within a few minutes followed by more cops and a couple of detectives. It felt like the entire KWPD was on scene and I couldn’t help but be impressed at the response. Officer Galbo of the KWPD questioned all of us and treated my mom with kid gloves. This is serious stuff in this major tourist town and apparently this guy has been busy lately.
After the officers took statements including one from a witness who had recently had a camera stolen on the street. A half hour later Detective Frank DuPonty showed up and walked Sean through the perp’s escape route. We were detained for about two hours and they treated my mom with a surprising amount of warmth and reassured her constantly that it wasn’t her fault, etc. She was really shaken up by the encounter and had lost a few hundred dollars earmarked for gifts. Although this was a significant amount of cash, the emotional fallout was much more serious. So we made the usual calls to cancel debit and credit cards and I promised that I would replace the purse and wallet the next day – and then something amazing happened. About five hours after the purse snatching, Detective DuPonty called to say they had retrieved the purse and he was on his way over to give it back to my mom.
Apparently, a sharp-eyed good Samaritan found it on the corner of Shavers Lane and Olivia Street.
Detective DuPonty had stayed up all night looking at similarities between this case and some others so when he arrived here with the purse, he looked tired but happy to have it for my mom. I have to say though that his clothes were crisp and pressed. I wonder if these guys keep an extra set of clothes at the station. Anyhow, Here’s a picture of my mom and Detective DuPonty.
This incident triggered a response not unlike PTSD – at any rate this was my armchair analysis of the situation. When my mom got home, she started to show symptons – fear, anxiety, mistrust. It’s really hard not to fly up and comfort her but I knew that she had to get over it and my siblings and the staff at the retirement home will help her through it. I’ve been calling 5-7 times a day and she is talking about it less and less. Sometimes memory loss is a good thing!
So thanks to the KWPD – they are everything I would hope for in this town.
Great Job Frank, you are Awesome at what you do!!!!!