Brenda Dorosz from Osoyoos did what many of us would love to do . . . what many of us only dream of doing – fight back against crime.
But she paid the price with broken ribs after tangling with a thief who attempted to steal from her family in May. Just like you see in those blockbuster action movies, she “clotheslined” the guy as he tried to run away.
No doubt, many of our readers silently cheered when they read that part of the story.
And we wouldn’t be surprised if a few police officers cheered too, although they would not condone the behaviour publicly.
We don’t condone taking the law into your own hands, either, but it is nice to see someone other than a cop stand up to crime and help put a prolific offender behind bars.
Brenda showed us her tenacity earlier this year with her fight to save Osoyoos Secondary School from closure. But clotheslining a thief is a different ball game.
While many people would have shouted to scare the criminal away, she literally clotheslined him and held him until police arrived. It was a brave but risky thing to do, but the World Wrestling Federation would be proud.
Deep inside we see ourselves in her shoes, saying enough is enough with ne’er-do-wells violating our homes and stealing our possessions that we worked so hard to obtain.
While the police don’t like the public fighting back, they recognize that we play an important roll in cleaning up our streets.
A perfect example is the Oliver farmer who took a photo of the same individual that Dorosz stopped in his tracks. This photo was used to identify the culprit (Jason Poulin, 33) after he crashed a stolen truck into a vineyard in July.
Some of you may have heard about the “creep catcher” vigilantes who set up creeps that prey on children. Yes, they are walking a fine line by taking the law into their own hands, but we applaud their efforts.
One disturbing case cracked by the RCMP involved a 56-year-old man in Burnaby who fell prey to an undercover operation. A police officer posed as a single mother of two children on a website used to discuss sexual interests in youth. The online chat with the 56-year-old man resulted in a meeting with the fictitious mother to discuss sexual acts with her fictitious daughter. Sick sick, sick. The man was subsequently arrested and charged.
The RCMP asks that if anyone is aware of any incidents of online child exploitation, they should report it to their local police or through www.Cybertip.ca
While you may not be as brave as Brenda Dorosz, there are many things you can do to keep your community safe: Watch out for your neighbour; report suspicious activity; join Oliver Crime Watch; and lock windows and doors.
Lyonel Doherty, editor
