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Additional Stories From Our Partners In The Field
Officer read to children while their mother was under arrest
When a Janesville mother was caught shoplifting, she fled the store and left her three sons behind. Officer Rod Hirsch recognized the 9-year-old, who was with his two little brothers. “He was crying pretty heavily and was pretty upset,” he said. Hirsch grabbed some children’s books from in his squad car. “We sat on the bench inside Farm and Fleet and just read books—me and these three little boys,” Hirsch said. The incident started when the mother of the boys had tried to take an item off the shelf and return for a refund as if she had bought it, Hirsch said. When the store tried to stop her, she jumped in her car, leaving her kids with a woman who had been with them. Police caught the mother, who gave officers a phony name, Hirsch said. She also was on probation. While other officers investigated, Hirsch kept the boys company. They read together for about a half hour, and then he let them keep the books. Hirsch said giving books to children puts them at ease when they’re caught in the middle of criminal investigations. He said the giveaways allow officers a chance to have positive interaction with kids. On the day of the shoplifting complaint, Hirsch was glad he had books for those three boys.
“I think they got about six, seven or maybe eight books,” he said.
Copyright 2011 by Ted Sullivan of The Janesville Gazette
