On Tuesday, September 11, a young woman was mugged in front of Madison Park. It happened just before 10 a.m. in the morning on an otherwise dismal day. Six years after 9/11, violence still occurs daily. Unfortunately for the victim and the suspect, on this day it occurred in Lakewood.

A young black male, in his early 20’s, approached the victim, who asked not to be identified, knocked her to the ground, yanked her purse off of her arm and fled. “The guy just ran up behind me, totally catching me off guard,” stated the victim. But in Lakewood, where population density makes for more eyes on the street, few such transgressions in public view will go unnoticed. Luckily for the victim, Rob Lindenbrg, owner of Rob’s Lakewood Marathon & Hitch was watching the incident go down just across the street. He and a buddy were having their morning coffee just before he sprung into action.

While his pal called the police, Rob jumped in his truck and chased after the suspect, who fled with two other males in the getaway vehicle. The chase took the crooks and the hero through several Lakewood streets, with citizens unaware. They darted up Madison Avenue, through Clifton Park, into Rocky River and back. The police joined in, about six cars, and eventually cornered the suspect and accomplices with a standard police tactical move.

The hero, Lindenberg, was blown away by the voracity of the suspect. “This is just ridiculous. How do you just do this in this town during broad daylight,” asked Lindenberg. “As I began chasing them, they tried ditching me, waving a gun at me, and then eventually, when the LPD took over the chase, they gave up. They had no where to go.” The victim is just so thankful that someone did something. “I can’t believe it. Everything happened so quickly. That guy was awesome,” said the victim. “If it wasn’t for him, they would not have been caught 100%,” she continued.

Lindenberg was quick to suggest that more people should look out for each other in our city. “How anyone could just sit around and watch things occur and do nothing is simply crazy.” He believes citizens should step up. “At least someone cares enough to go the extra yard to look after one of our own,” he continued. Lindenberg was thrilled to have been receiving so much praise for something that, seemingly, was innate to him. “People have been coming in and just shaking my hand. It really makes you feel good for getting involved. The young lady didn’t deserve that to happen.”

The victim couldn’t have been happier. “I thanked him (Rob) profusely and bought him a case of beer,” said the victim in appreciation. She was also elated that the police brought her purse back and allowed her to go through the car to retrieve the rest of her purse’s contents, which the suspect had dumped on the floor. The victim also stated that an AT&T work van pulled over and asked if she was ok. “Which way did they go,” asked the unknown driver.

This whole situation just goes to show that in this city, no matter what the situation, the Lakewood tradition of citizens helping each other will always triumph over the chaos making of atomized individuals, from atomizing places both urban an exurban. So, for all the would-be criminals coming to Lakewood, I suggest you go somewhere else. If you come to Lakewood looking for trouble, trouble will find you instead.