Tipsters earn area's thanks

Sunday, July 26, 2009

For years law enforcement has been asking citizens for help putting away bad guys. Two incidents in recent weeks offer case studies of what they have in mind.

First, a brave tipster gave Charleston police information enabling them to arrest Leon and Rafael Horlbeck, brothers both with lengthy police records, for the murder of 15-year-old Jermel Brown.

And last week, an alert citizen helped Mount Pleasant police find someone suspected in 23 bank robberies — someone who allegedly had eluded police in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina for three years.

Limousine driver Omar Williams spotted a man running from the National Bank of South Carolina in Mount Pleasant. He immediately provided a description of his car (a maroon Ford Expedition) and its Georgia license tag number. Soon after, police arrested Cecil Stephen Haire, who is thought to be the evasive Limping Bandit.

The unnamed person or persons with information about Jermel Brown's shooting death helped Charleston police despite fears of retaliation if the wrong people should find out that they did.

On today's Commentary page, Solicitor Scarlett Wilson addresses another role witnesses can play in helping make the community safer: They can follow through by testifying honestly and consistently when the case goes to trial. The conviction and sentencing of Ronald Mark Simmons offer evidence of how that pays off.

When people step up and do the right thing, they deserve the community's gratitude.

Omar Williams and the tipsters from the West Side where Jermel Brown was killed did more than help with arrests. They gave victims some relief. They made the community safer — not just with the three arrests but with the message to criminals: "Watch out."

And they set an example that just might inspire youngsters to see that it is far better to help your neighborhood than to hurt it. It's better to receive the community's thanks than to receive prison sentences.

The lesson is not to be reckless. Leave police work to the police, but, when we can, we should help make their work as successful as possible.