At the outset – I would like to stress that this is unusual for downtown White Plains. It may be a sign of the times. Certainly many cities have reported an uptick in crime although White Plains NY has not really had any spikes in the crime rate that I am aware of . Desperation makes people do desperate things.
Sunday started out as a day that is somewhat typical of my weekend. I had two sets of showings with two buyer clients. My last client was a referral from someone I had sold a home to a few years ago and we were combining business with pleasure as I found myself enjoying a lovely party in his unit after the showings.
At about 4 PM I left the party and started to head towards my car. I was thinking of what I needed to do next. Lost in thought – I was unaware that I was being approached from behind. Suddenly someone came up behind me. I thought he was tapping me on the shoulder – suddenly I felt my arm being jerked and he grabbed my computer bag/briefcase and ran up the street at break neck speed- jumped into a waiting car and sped away. A good Samaritan stopped briefly to see if I was Ok and took off in pursuit. I started instinctively feeling for my cell phone. Oops! The cell phone was in the bag….My phone gone - I headed back to my former client’s home to call the police.
The police showed up promptly and said that they a couple of cars were chasing the suspects that the good Samaritans had called in. Someone was caught and my things are now being held in evidence, but the amazing thing is that I didn’t lose a thing except a bunch of business cards that they had strewn all over the place.
The detectives were extremely kind – you could tell a couple were probably putting in a lot of overtime from the recent sad but necessary cutbacks. They took my statement and were more than responsive. They made a situation that can be traumatizing for many as easy and seamless as they could. By 8 PM I was on my way home – none the worse for my experience – though more than a tad drenched. The one those guys took that I really needed was my umbrella!
©2011 Ruthmarie G. Hicks – http://thewestchesterview – All rights reserved.
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