The consumers of Daily Companions, Inc. were visited by Sgt. Vigh of the Berkeley County Sherriff’s Department. Sgt. Vigh first stressed that everyone should view any law enforcement personnel as a “friend”. Their job is keep us safe. Sgt. Vigh explained that if you are in a situation that you feel is “unsafe”, notice someone around you feel may be up to no good, or maybe you come across a weapon or needles in a public place, please call 911. He assured us that no one would be angry, no one would be arrested for making a sincere call, law enforcement wants our safety above all else.
Sgt. Vigh presented situations we might encounter. You come into someone’s home, or they come into your home and present a firearm. They assure you it is unloaded, so it is “safe” to play with. What should you do? DCI consumers were able to answer “call 911 and get away”, or “tell an adult”. The same answer held true if you were offered drugs. He emphasized the difference in taking prescribed medication for a health reason, and someone just offering you something to “see how it feels”.
Another scenario: you are out in public, someone comes up to you and shows a firearm or other weapon, law enforcement shows up and orders everyone to freeze. The others run off, what do you do? Again, DCI consumers were up to the challenge and answered “freeze”. Sgt. Vigh commended them for that answer. Again he emphasized that no one would be arrested for following instruction from law enforcement, rather your safety would be ensured by obeying. The same would hold true if drugs were being pressed on you.
We questioned Sgt. Vigh on how we could be certain that someone was really law enforcement. He showed us his uniform, his badge, and reminded us that we could always call the Sheriff’s Dept. or 911 to double check an officer’s identity.
Everyone here at Daily Companions, Inc. would like to thank the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department and Sgt. Vigh for this informative discussion. Now, we are looking forward to a field trip out to the Department to see all the “behind the scene’s” work that goes on!