By Staff
Kerry Whipple Bean
Publisher
When Sheriff Grover Smith drove to Atmore last week, he probably had an inkling what he would find.
Smith had laid the foundation days earlier, telling the father of a murder suspect that if he could help find his son, he would help take him into custody peacefully.
That simple act was a reminder that police work isn’t quite what we see on TV. It takes good, old-fashioned hard work — and a healthy dose of psychology and compassion.
Smith said he gave Bruce Day’s father his cell phone numbers, and promised to handle the task himself if Day’s father could get him to turn himself in on charges of murder from a 2001 case.
That might not seem as glamorous as the police work they show on television, but it is the kind of police work that often gets results.
Our county and city law enforcement officers use — and need — the help of special equipment, task force training and undercover operations — the money for which is often lacking, although our sheriff’s and police departments do try for and receive grant funding and support from local governments.
But sometimes it’s nice to know that, at the end of the day, simply being sincere pays off.
Kerry Whipple Bean is publisher of The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at 867-4876 or by e-mail at kerry.bean@brewtonstandard.com.