Staff Reports
Two Columbus Police officers have received letters of commendation from Columbus Police Chief Michael Richardson for helping an elderly local woman who did not have food, water or electricity in her apartment.
Columbus Police Officers Chris Strickland and Adam
were sent to a local home on Jan. 28 to check the welfare of the elderly woman, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
When the officers arrived at the woman’s apartment, they discovered she did not have food, water or electricity.
Since a hot meal site was not open, Strickland purchased food for the woman using his own money, Harris said.
Wisenbaugh believed that the woman would be more comfortable staying at a local hotel rather than at a homeless shelter due to her age and he worked with a local charity to get her a temporary hotel room.
The officers’ supervisor, Sgt. Alyson Eichel, learned about the two officers’ actions and shared the details with the police department’s command staff.
In the letter of commendation, Richardson thanked the officers for taking the extra steps necessary to make sure the local woman was properly cared for.
“It is easy to overlook much of the good work that is done by our law enforcement officers when the focus is only on preventing crime,” he said. “We know that our officers have many roles and sometimes that involves being a caretaker for those who are less fortunate.”
Strickland and Wisenbaugh have served as CPD officers for nearly six years.
