As a former assistant district attorney, Jack Whelan no doubt many times heard police warn citizens about getting personally involved in fighting crime. The mantra usually is not to take physical action to intervene, to alert authorities and let them do their job.
It’s advice Whelan and another citizen ignored last Sunday. Good for them.
The vice chairman of County Council, and a former Ridley commissioner, was simply running an errand when he stopped at the CVS store on MacDade Boulevard in the Woodlyn section of the township.
What happened next put Whelan in the middle of a life-and-death struggle.
Police say the store manager became embroiled in a dispute with a suspected shoplifter. The suspect took out a box cutter and began flailing away. He sliced open the worker’s arm and came dangerously close to his carotid artery in his neck.
The scene was a bloody mess. Enter Jack Whelan, and fellow citizen Gene Whelan. Yes, they have the last name. Luckily for the store manager, they also share the same kind of intestinal fortitude.
Jack Whelan jumped into the fray to subdue the suspect. Gene Whelan eventually gave him a hand.
The experts likely would say this is exactly what you should not do.
But it’s incredibly satisfying to see anyone – let alone a public official in Jack Whelan’s case – to do just the opposite, to get involved.
Simply put, Jack Whelan saw a person in dire need of help. He never hesitated, putting his own life on the line to help someone he did not know.
The scene was a bloody mess. It would have been easy for the Whelan guys to simply call police and keep their distance from a very dangerous situation.
We hear a lot these days about the war on crime, about how police need the public’s help, need people to come forward with information.
The dynamic duo of Whelans on Sunday put their bodies where everyone’s mouth is.
They got involved. Good for them.
Well done, gentlemen.
It’s advice Whelan and another citizen ignored last Sunday. Good for them.
The vice chairman of County Council, and a former Ridley commissioner, was simply running an errand when he stopped at the CVS store on MacDade Boulevard in the Woodlyn section of the township.
What happened next put Whelan in the middle of a life-and-death struggle.
Police say the store manager became embroiled in a dispute with a suspected shoplifter. The suspect took out a box cutter and began flailing away. He sliced open the worker’s arm and came dangerously close to his carotid artery in his neck.
The scene was a bloody mess. Enter Jack Whelan, and fellow citizen Gene Whelan. Yes, they have the last name. Luckily for the store manager, they also share the same kind of intestinal fortitude.
Jack Whelan jumped into the fray to subdue the suspect. Gene Whelan eventually gave him a hand.
The experts likely would say this is exactly what you should not do.
But it’s incredibly satisfying to see anyone – let alone a public official in Jack Whelan’s case – to do just the opposite, to get involved.
Simply put, Jack Whelan saw a person in dire need of help. He never hesitated, putting his own life on the line to help someone he did not know.
The scene was a bloody mess. It would have been easy for the Whelan guys to simply call police and keep their distance from a very dangerous situation.
We hear a lot these days about the war on crime, about how police need the public’s help, need people to come forward with information.
The dynamic duo of Whelans on Sunday put their bodies where everyone’s mouth is.
They got involved. Good for them.
Well done, gentlemen.
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