I interrupt my current blog series on suicide data for a moment, to reminisce about one of the most memorable days in a few 40 year careers policing Lincoln. Ten years ago today, on the morning of January 14, 2005, Officer Scott Arnold and Sgt. Ken Koziol nabbed a serial bank robber culminating a rather incredible (but very short) special project. I was in my office glued to the police radio that morning, having a hard time believing what I was hearing--and then smiling from ear to ear.
This was without doubt one of the most noteworthy cases during my tenure as police chief. Intuition, initiative, good planning, and determination were all involved, along with some top-notch crime analysis, and a healthy dose of just plain good luck. If you are a crime analyst, a detective, a street cop, or a even a deskbound chief, it just doesn't get much better than this.
Here is the contemporary Lincoln Journal Star news story by Margaret Reist from the day of the arrest. A more detailed account, including a description of the analysis that supported "Rolling the Dice," appears in Crime Mapping Case Studies: Practice and Research, 2008, edited by Spencer Chainey and Lisa Thompson.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
It was all about luck. I was there for the interview with the robber and he said the only reason he picked that day was because of the snow and he knew police response would be slow. Martin Luther King day had nothing to do with it. Pure luck. At least the luck was on our side that day.
Yeah, it was luck, but without a lot of planning that luck wouldn't have helped a bit. Good to see everyone working together to get the guy. Congrats!!
9:34,
Certainly plenty of luck, but wasn't mere luck. What are the chances Scott Arnold would have been there at opening time, and that Ken Koziol and a SWAT detail would have been around the bend? Bottom dollar, we predicted his pattern, picked the right time and place, and had the necessary resources deployed to take advantage of the good luck.
An old police chief of mine in another state once told me something about luck. He said "chance favors the prepared mind."
That fits this case so well.
Great story and a great warning to any would be criminal. Do not commit crimes Lincoln, Nebraska! I laugh to this day driving by the private security Crown Vic parked at the West Gate bank at 84th and Holdrege. Hey it works; I do not believe a north 84th street bank has been held up since. So what do the criminals do? They rob the Sonic drive-thru next door. Oh and LPD caught those criminals too. Great work LPD!
One last point after this story broke in ’05 I too always look for tellers when driving by a bank just in case some criminal is holding them hostage.
Great work!
Officer Arnold is my brother, and I am very proud of him and all the officers at LPD. They lay their life on the line for us each and everyday. Thanks to them all!!
Post a Comment