On This Day -

October 30, 2012 - A day that changed life for many people…from bank employees to law enforcement officers to ordinary citizens… the actions of two impacted many.

On this day in 2012 two young men robbed the Maynard Savings in Halloween masks. Following the bank robbery the two led officers on a chase that ended in Bremer County, near Frederika, along the Wapsipinicon River corridor. Many shots were fired, officers were hit and seriously wounded, and an intense manhunt was on.

My involvement was minimal compared to the hundreds of officers that responded to the scene. I towed an ATV to the scene and then worked in the Incident Command Post at the Frederika Community Center. To reflect back on how the community of Frederika was transformed for those hours still amazes me. To remember how we alerted citizens to lock their doors - all of them - as the search was on, is something we have not had to do since. To reflect back on how the speaker in the center of the table connected to the field mics crackled to life when movement was sighted, and then one suspect was caught, followed a short time later by the apprehension of his partner, is something I will never forget.

The next day, when the two were walked into the Bremer County Courthouse for their first court appearance, I held the door open. As I watched the two approaching in shackles and “jail orange,” with law enforcement officers surrounding them, and knowing what they had done the day before, I wished they were dead. But when the group of people were closer and entering the building, I noticed how the taller one seemed to be looking through me as his younger partner was visibly shaking. I still wonder if the tall one thought he was invincible and if the shorter guy was scared after recognizing he had messed up his life forever. My wishing them dead changed - a little - when I witnessed a human side of the shorter one.

Now, eleven years later, some of the details of the trial (not the manhunt) have blurred. Both must spend at least 35-years behind bars and up to 50-years. Is that enough? Their punishment is not my decision to make. Is the minimum sentence of 35-years too much as one of the convicts claims? Apparently not according to the courts.

What I know for sure is the many people who were impacted by the events that day will never forget - the fear, the pain, the anger - the many emotions endured. October 30, 2012 was a day I will never forget.

This bald eagle perched low in a tree along the Wapsipinicon River today triggered thoughts of the robbery and manhunt. Adult bald eagles remind me of law and order, the impact of an organized government, and the expectation of mutual respect required in a civilized society.