photo by Boyd Loving
What a riot! I just saw Boyd Loving in Rite Aid and he told me that many of the same people who are furious with him posting accident photos are clamoring to have more information and photos posted of the strange looking dude the cops grabbed near Ridge School. Can you believe these people.
Six cops to subdue an 155 lb guy ?
Somewhere a ‘distraction burglary’ was happening…
To answer the title question: yes, we want the news. Thank you James for providing it.
I think the point is that an auto accident is very different then a man deemed so suspicious that he triggered a lock down of all the schools in town.
Glad someone was observant and took the initiative to the police. “See something, sayn nsomething”.He walked by my house N Monroe and Morningside yesterday going north. The attire and overall appearance caught my attentionhowever he just kept walking- did not notice a bp looking vest. It’s a bit unusual for an old white guy with a pony tail and gold MC Hammer type pants to be walking around the neighboorhood. But hey, he could have been a drummer from a 70’s hippie band having flashbacks: ) Keep on keeping on Boyd! Better Safe than sorry.
So many of us love the blog , why Because we can trust the block with her newspaper.
October 19, 2017
Dear Ridgewood Public Schools Community,
Following is a message from Chief Luthcke of the Ridewood Police Department.
SUSPICIOUS PERSON INCIDENT UPDATE 10-19-17
Yesterday afternoon, Ridgewood Schools were advised to shelter in students in place after a resident reported a man wearing what appeared to be a bullet proof vest gruffly asked for directions to Willard school. The person described by the resident was located by patrol a short time later and it was discovered he was wearing a black weighted vest, which has the appearance of a bullet proof vest. The man was transported to the Ridgewood Police Department for questioning as there was a language barrier with the man. All schools were cleared of the shelter in place at 2:15pm. This shelter in place was issued out of an abundance of caution to the school community. After an investigation, it was determined the man was headed to Willard School to pick up his grandchild and had gotten lost along the way and was attempting to ask for directions. The situation was explained and he understood the confusion. The man was released without any charges.
The Ridgewood Police Department would like to thank all of the surrounding agencies, including Midland Park, Wyckoff and Glen Rock, for their assistance during this incident. We know this incident may have caused stress in the community, but we need to take all incidents, such as this, very seriously as our community’s safety is of paramount importance. Fortunately, this was an innocent misunderstanding and simply was a lost resident.
Sincerely,
Daniel Fishbein, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
I am interested in all of the news and appreciate the updates.
Hey, I don’t know how to get to Willard school, but there’s a child there a teacher will let me pick up, so please tell me how to get there. And no, my name is not Jerry Sandusky, thank you very much.
Why so many cops….that’s why Ridgewood has such high taxes. I believe having a good neighborhood with decent people much better then overzealous cops. Taxes should be going towards schools, health care, roads and community activities where local children can take an active roles like technology, science, arts and etc.
Hey sam check your tax bill if you really live here. The schools suck up about 70% of the bill. The cops have fewer on the roster now than in years past. I lived here since 1969 and they do a great job.. And if you had a clue you would notice that mutual aid from other towns had to help because we do not have enough cops on patrol. You must have just moved here from NYC .
How have we gotten to a point where a man asking for directions to a school triggers 8 cops and a lock down? It was a grandfather asking for directions. I am glad the police responded but it seems pretty extreme to bring him in for questioning instead of just figuring out that he was a grandfather and then giving him directions to the school.
Learn the language. That’s one way to avoid misunderstandings and enjoy fruitful interactions with the local constabulary.
9:09 – I guess you are smarter than the police, you are able to assess the situation and determine that they handled it incorrectly.
To answer the question at the top, yes, I want the news. All the news. Not just the white bread laundered vanilla news.
Sam, our police force is there when you need them. Even when you personally don’t need them they are there, taking care of our town. How dare you suggest that we don’t need these fine people. We need every one of them.
I am sure that if there had been no language barrier, he would not have been taken into the station. The language translator can be obtained from there. Due to many parental complaints about strangers in the neighborhood, they have to respond to any calls