I mentioned that I would go back to elementary now and then. Today is about a robbery down the street from Montview. The store was held up at gunpoint and the robber headed toward Montview. This was in the days before lockdowns and duck and cover, He crashed his car about a block from Montview and jumped out of his car, and ran toward our building. With the agility of a cat, he jumped onto a fence and then to the school’s roof He hid hoping that the police didn’t see him. They did see him and surrounded the building. They came in and asked us how to get to the roof. Our custodian had just transferred so our new one didn’t know where the roof hatch was. I made the mistake of being in the office at the time. I told them I knew where it was and I would take them to it. It was in the media center and in the back room. As we were walking up to the media center the officer asked if I could tell them what was on the roof and the areas where he could hide. I tried as best as I could but I told him it would be easier to show him. I went up the ladder with the key and unlocked the hatch and was the first one on the roof. As I looked back, I could see the officers in vests and with their shields following me. It never occurred to me that I was unarmed and unprotected but I was leading the party. At this point, I have to say that they found the car and he had left his gun in the car so they thought we were safe. I pointed out the HVAC units and the rest of the roof. They quickly surrounded him and had him handcuffed.
The police had apprehended the robber but had him handcuffed and I could see that he wouldn’t be able to climb the ladder in cuffs. The lead officer made a quick call on the radio and the next thing I know the fire department showed up with a ladder and bucket truck. They put him in the bucket and set him on the ground and carted him off to jail. We went back down the ladder and the officers thanked me and left. The one question that should have been asked was, how did I know what the roof looked like? For the last 25+ years, I have never been asked. I will give you the truth but still with some reservations. I had a science club and one of the best projects was building Estes rockets I will leave it at that, but I did spend a fair amount of time on the roof and in the neighborhood.