The following letter was sent to Lewes Police Chief Thomas Spell, with a copy sent to the Cape Gazette for publication.
It is with a good deal of pride, and much gratitude that I write this letter. I first saw the United States as a small boy, more than 70 years ago, through an early morning drizzle, from a ship full of refugees. It was the Statue of Liberty. We were settled in a small town in New Jersey, where I grew up. My wife of more than half a century also grew up in a small town in New Jersey. And we have been fortunate to have attached ourselves to Lewes those 50 years ago. Looking back, it seems clear to me that Gods greatest gifts and mankind’s greatest virtues seem to be concentrated in small American towns.
A few days ago, this was all brought home to us in an ‘encounter’ with three of your officers - Detective Moyer, Corporal Marsch and Officer Welch. We faced a “problem” under great time pressure, substantially beyond our increasingly elderly capabilities. I won’t go further, as they say, to protect the innocent. I resisted calling the police, because at bottom there was a human tragedy, and I thought we’d try somehow to avoid “calling the cops.” Well, in consulting with friends, someone took it upon themselves to do just that, and we were subsequently informed that the police were waiting for us on site.
There they were Lewes’ finest. Patient, thoughtful, with an occasional smile for the real nuttiness in our situation. They made clear that we could certainly file charges, as at least “technically” several crimes had been committed. When we wanted to fix the problem short of that, they cheerfully pitched in to help. They are young and strong, and what had to be done called for lots of heavy lifting.
They did more of it than we could, and with jokes and smiles in the process.
I could go on, but suffice it to say, they exemplified all the competence, skill, good judgment, and patience anyone could expect, well above and beyond the call of duty. And, it has occurred to us that these are the kinds of virtues you find lots of in small-town America.
I have spent a career in large government organizations, and these three are the kind we don’t have enough of. They are the kind about whom supervisors write: “Promote immediately so that we can give them more responsibility.”
Our heartfelt thanks to those magnificent three, and to you and the department you lead.
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