By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune Contributor
Elizabeth Stewart thought Florence would just be another city she passed through on her way from Sevierville, Tennessee to Dayton, Ohio for a funeral on the evening of Dec.28.
An unscheduled stop due to a mechanical problem, however, turned out to be a major inconvenience that could have been much worse if not for the actions of two Florence Police Department officers.
Stewart’s front driver side tire “decided it didn’t want to continue the trip and flew off the interstate right before the Florence exit,” she said in an email.
Stewart was traveling with her ex-sister-in-law and three small children, including her 5-year-old autistic son when the incident occurred.
She said everyone was near panic until Florence Police Officer Rick St. Blancard showed up.
St. Blancard said when he arrived on the scene at Interstate 75 near mile-marker 179, the car, an older-model minivan, was resting on its rotor. The tire was about 100 yards down the interstate.
“(Stewart) was on the phone with the (department store) mechanic that had checked the car out before the trip, giving him an earful,” St. Blancard said. “She was freaking out, trying to figure out what she was going to do.”
St. Blancard first made sure none of the passengers needed medical attention and that his patrol vehicle adequately shielded the minivan. He then walked down to check on the tire, to see if there was any way it could be put back on the car. The tire was actually still holding air and in pretty good shape, but the rotor was badly damaged.
“They weren’t going anywhere in that car without some serious repairs,” he said.
At this point, St. Blancard realized one of the children was becoming extremely upset.
“As soon as he noticed how shaken up my three-year-old was, his focus went from getting the van towed, directly to getting us somewhere safe,” Stewart said in the email.
St. Blancard realized he was going to need backup to do that.
“I didn’t have enough room for all of them and all of their stuff in my patrol car, so that’s when I called (Newton),” he said.
Stewart said the children were not too keen on being split up, but St. Blancard gave them some candy and assured them he wouldn’t let anything happen to them.
“We discussed with her first, where we were going to take them, and made her aware of the issues some of the area’s hotels have had,” Newton said.
As with many Northern Kentucky cities, some of the cheaper hotels in Florence have become a haven for drug use and other elicit activity, and the officers wanted to make sure the family was in a clean, safe place.
“We decided on the Holiday Inn Express (on Freedom Way) because it was the closest nice hotel, where we wouldn’t have to wonder what the kids were going to run into or pick up that the housekeeper missed,” Newton said.
When they arrived at the hotel, the officers went in and explained the situation to the desk clerk and told her Stewart was low on cash. The clerk agreed to offer the family a special rate on the room, but Stewart was still $11 short.
“I had only planned on being out of town for a day, so I didn’t bring a lot of money,” Stewart explained.
At this point, St. Blancard pulled out a credit card and was going to cover the cost of the room, but Stewart would not let him do that. Newton then pulled $11 out of his pocket and put it on the counter.
“I told him I couldn’t accept it and I would just stay somewhere else,” Stewart said. “He looked at me and said, ‘I would rather give you the rest of the money for this room and know you and your kids are safe tonight, than to take you to a cheaper hotel and have to worry if something happened to you guys.’”
Stewart grudgingly accepted and the officers stayed with her until she got the keys to a room.
St. Blancard also followed up the next day and found that the van had been moved. He learned later that a family member of Stewart’s had managed to make the vehicle roadworthy again.
Florence Mayor Diane Whalen said the city’s police officers go beyond the call of duty every day and it’s a great feeling when someone who has had one of these interactions writes to express gratitude.
“We are pleased to share good news, especially when so much of what we hear is bad,” Whalen said. “I am grateful that the people who work for the city continue to show human kindness in their jobs and interactions with the public.”
Newton and St. Blancard, both four-year veterans with the department, downplayed the praise, saying it was just their turn.
“We didn’t do anything different than any of the other guys we work with would have done, and I believe that,” St. Blancard said.
Stewart is not so sure.
“I don’t know of one police officer in the whole state of Tennessee that would have done for a complete stranger, what your officers did for me and my kids,” Stewart said. “Those two men are a prime example of everything that (the) badge stands for.”
In other Florence news, city council swore in Firefighter/paramedic Brian Sunderhaus as the newest member of the Florence Fire/EMS Department. He previously worked with the Delhi, Colerain Township and Wyoming fire Departments. Bob Bedel, 78, who was a firefighter for more than 10 years, pins a badge on his grandson.
Great story about the kind of stuff many peace officers do every day without much recognition. We’ve heard a lot of negative about cops lately. It’s good to hear about the positive things that often go unnoticed.
Kudos officers! You make us proud of our police dept.