Police1 Staff Report
(BELLEVUE, Neb.) -- Not one to be cloistered behind a desk, the police chief of Nebraska’s oldest community is garnering praise by the rank and file for capturing and arresting an allaged armed robber on Wednesday.
“It was no big deal,” Bellevue Chief Hines Smith told the Omaha World-Herald. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I saw him, and I took him into custody.”
At about 1:30 p.m. a man robbed the clerk at the Redi Cash checking-counter in the Citgo Super Store at 36th St. and Chandler Rd, according to police.
The man left the store with an undisclosed amount of cash and drove away in a black Nissan.
Smith responded as soon as the call came in. Minutes after he left the police station, while driving north on 30th Street, the chief spotted the getaway car.
The car made a left turn on Madison and the chief followed, preparing to get the drop on the suspect.
“I made a left-hand turn on Madison. As I was turning, I went ahead and drew my weapon,” Smith told the World-Herald. “He had his window down, so I leaned out and asked him, ‘Hey, have you seen two guys walking through this area?’ He said he hadn’t, and by that time I had my weapon on him.”
Smith arrested the unidentified 22-year-old man who was charged with felony robbery charges. He is being held in the Sarpy County Jail.
Some of the other officers expressed surprise and joked that he had done “a pretty good job for an old man,” the newspaper said
But Smith just shrugged it off.
“What they tend to forget is, even though I’m the chief, my badge still says ‘policeman,’” Smith told the World-Herald. “And I can make arrests just like the newest recruit on the force.” The department has 70 sworn officers and 12 civilian employees, according to its Web site: http://www.bellevuepolice.com/