Staff Reports
In the land of free speech and limited government intervention, you’d hope that personal safety in public places would be a given. But for Holly, a single mom looking to unwind on a friend’s birthday, an evening out turned into something you’d only expect in an old-school action movie—without the hero, of course. She found herself in a scuffle for the ages, trying to break up a fight that would make the Wild West look tame, only to be swept into the melee herself.
Picture this: a crowd of 100 people standing around, capturing the madness on video rather than phoning for help. Now, there’s nothing wrong with using your phone to record your kid’s terrible rendition of Chopsticks at the school talent show, but when life and limb are at stake, you’d think a 911 call would trump going viral. One would assume these eyewitnesses didn’t quite grasp the concept of being a good Samaritan, because not a single one lifted a finger to dial those three life-saving numbers.
When the police finally made their grand entrance, expectations of order and assistance were dashed faster than you can say “incompetence.” They appeared as indifferent as cats to a dog’s birthday party. Instead of bringing in backup or calling an ambulance, they acted as nonchalantly as if they’d stumbled upon a picnic in the park. Meanwhile, Holly and her friends were left tending their own wounds, bloodied and bruised, with Holly deciding the backseat of an Uber was safer than the hands of the authorities.
Some might say the lack of action was an oversight, but even novice cooks know not to leave the kitchen when the oven’s on. The police’s passivity didn’t just stop at not calling an ambulance; they didn’t even bother to collect statements or gather adequate information from all the victims. It’s almost as if they were following some alternate universe police handbook, where the first rule of emergency response is: “Pretend it didn’t happen.”
In a city like Cincinnati, you’d hope the police would jump at the chance to protect and serve—not play a poor game of duck, duck, goose, with everyone’s safety on the line. But here we are, with citizens like Holly left to fend for themselves, second-guessing their tax dollars and wondering if the biggest crime wasn’t the brawl itself but the failure of those tasked with quelling it. It’s a sobering reminder that in some skirmishes, you’re better off finding your own way home.
