At this month's Starfish Assignment meeting, Columbus Division of Police Community Liaison Officer James Poole (20 Precinct) spoke to us about the everyday heroism of some of his fellow officers. The stories ranged from pranksters that officers might encounter on the job to a discussion of Ofc Jason Jackson, who worked to bring the Explorers program to CPD. Unfortunately, Ofc Jackson passed away from cancer earlier this year at the age of 47. The Explorers program that he worked so hard to start continues, however.
Ofc Poole also introduced us to the story of CPD Ofc Levon Morefield, which is detailed here. Ofc Morefield is one of the CPD officers who will be participating in Cops and Barbers in August. Please take a few minutes to watch the video, as a brief summary here will not do it justice. Ofc Morefield is truly inspirational, and he demonstrates what making a difference in the life of one person can mean.
Ofc Poole closed out our meeting by educating us on how to protect ourselves from being a victim of a home burglary. He also offered us tips on how to increase the chances of having our property recovered if we do fall victim, namely record the serial numbers of your electronics someplace safe (such as in an electronic cloud) and write your driver's license number on the back of electronics with a special pen that's visible with a black light. He provided these pens to our members, but you can purchase them online.
Ofc Poole didn't want the focus of our meeting to be on him, but he's also a hero. Take a moment to watch his reunion with the man whose life he saved as a child.
