Galveston Citizens Police Academy
by Barbara Murdock
April 12, 2005 
 
 

What if you just got in your car and this happened to you? 

A stranger comes up to your car window and says, “Hi, I saw you drop this $5 bill.” 

You think to yourself—what a nice person—but I didn’t drop it--free money???
Would you open your car to take it? 

Here’s what happened. I learned about it through my attendance at a Galveston Citizen’s Police Academy.

A woman bought gas and returned to her car. A man tapped on her window holding a $5 bill. He said she dropped it and he was returning it to her. 

She knew it wasn’t hers. She smiled and told him to keep it. 

He got mad—really angry and started yelling. She drove off.

Then she started thinking about how weird that was—a good Samaritan getting hostile?—so she reported it to the police. 

This may be a clue they needed—they think it may be the way some women were abducted & killed. Her report may save lives—maybe mine—maybe someone you know—because we were warned by someone who was smart enough to report a strange incident.

Police can’t be everywhere all the time but ordinary people like us can be their extra eyes & ears when we report what concerns us. I attended Galveston’s 17th Citizens Police Academy— if you haven’t already attended one, think about it.

The next Citizens Police Academy begins on April 20. For information or to register, please call 797-3830. More information about the academy is published at www.cityofgalveston.org and is on GALV-TV, Channel 16.