We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Blaine County Sheriff John Colby and his daughter Aspyn enjoy a more relaxing time while on the Chinook High School DC Club trip recently. Colby also made an arrest while out on the town with the students.
Washington D.C. recently as part of the Chinook High School Junior/Senior trip. John was on the trip with his daughter, Aspyn, and was serving as a Chaperon roll along with a number of other parents.
Former Chinook High School History, Teacher Doug Hays as well as current CHS History teacher, Mike Jones organized the trip. Hays has been taking CHS students to the Washington DC area for many years and has even guided a few adult trips as well. The purpose of the trip is to expose the students to historical sites that otherwise they may never get to see.
The trip includes historical museums, landmarks, an NBA game, a NHL game, visits with Montana's Congressional Delegation and plenty of great food. There really isn't much downtime on the seven day trip and the days are meticulously planned out. Typically the days start early in the morning and ends late at night.
On this most recent trip, Mr. Hays, Mr. Jones, the chaperones and the students all experienced something that hasn't happened before and very well may never happen again that was completely unscripted and off the books. It will also be one of the most prominent memories they will share, right up there with Gettysburg, Mount Vernon and the White House.
While departing the Subway later in the evening after the group had enjoyed a great meal, an incident on the platform led to Colby springing into action as a Law Enforcement Officer, securing the scene and ensuring the students and others in the vicinity were safe.
"We were coming off of the Metro and at that point we brought one of the groups of kids to the top platform," said Colby. "While we were waiting for the other groups some boys had come up and said that somebody pulled a knife and tried to mug them down on the lower platform. Liam (Edwards) and Tyler (Schoen) said they witnessed it. Liam said the guy pulled out a knife near where Tyler was."
At that point Sheriff Colby made his way back down to the lower platform, "They told me the guy had taken off through a corridor down one direction. About the time I got back to the escalator I started hearing them all calling for me. When I turned around they were yelling that's him, that's him!
Colby identified the area the kids were pointing to and made his way towards the individual, "There was two people walking towards us and one of them was wearing the clothing that the kids described to me. I started to walk to the male suspect and the kids kept saying that's the guy, that's him. As I got closer, the individual turned back towards the kids and made threatening comments in their direction," stated Colby.
At that point Colby's training kicked in and he took action, "The suspect took a step towards them and reached for his pocket at which time I effectively placed him on the ground utilizing skills that I have been trained to use in these situation."
Colby then instructed the group that was at the top of the Metro landing to call 911. "There was one individual that was on the phone and everyone had assumed that the call had been made, after a few minutes Mr. Hayes asked if anyone called and they hadn't. So Doug (Hayes) called 911 and informed the police of the incident."
A few moments later after Sheriff Colby had patted down the suspect and removed the knife, Metro Subway Police showed up and took the suspect into custody.
Normally, even on trips, Colby is a bit more prepared than he was that night in the nations Capitol, "It was the only time I haven't brought my handcuffs with me when I went some place. I Just grabbed his arms and held his arms together and secured them behind his back."
"We just made sure when he was on the ground that he was secure and safe and we repositioned him so that he could breath easier. Scott Friede continued to move kids pass and on to the rest of the chaperone's until authorities arrived," added Colby.
As far as the suspect, "You could tell he had been drinking and smoking marijuana with the strong oder coming from him," said Colby. However because of the distance the suspect was from the kids when the incident took place Police were only allowed to charge him with public intoxication.
"The kids were absolutely awesome, they were respectful, they were polite. I was nervous before the trip but it was really a fun time with them," concluded Colby
